US Treasury Secretary says Ukraine's economy could overtake Russia's in 20 years

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday, June 11, told members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee that Ukraine's economy could become larger than Russia's within two decades with good governance and global investment.

He cited the example of Poland, whose economy after the fall of the Berlin Wall was the same size as Ukraine's, and now it is three times larger.

"II believe that we could imagine in two decades that Ukrainian economy through good management, through partnership like this and global investments could be larger than the Russian economy," Bessent said during the hearing.

"It will provide a very strong and extreme deterrent to whoever is running Russia then," the US minister added.

According to the latest World Bank estimates, Ukraine ranks 57th in the ranking of the world's largest economies. In 2023, Ukraine's gross domestic product grew by 5.3%, and in dollar terms, it increased from $162 billion to $178.8 billion. Russia is ranked 11th in the world, and its economy is 11 times larger than Ukraine's – $2021 billion.

In order to strengthen Ukraine's economy, Bessent said, the Trump administration is actively working to get the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund up and running as soon as possible. A major conference on Ukraine's reconstruction is also planned for Rome.

At the same time, the minister warned that no country that has assisted the Russian war machine with money, troops or equipment will be allowed to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine. "You do not get to destroy a country, ruin lives and then get paid to rebuild it ," Bessent said .

Asked about the bill to strengthen sanctions against Russia, which already has the support of 84 senators out of 100, Bessent said:

"All the options are on the table. Treasury is ready to take action to facilitate durable and lasting peace. We have existing US sanctions and export controls on Russia that remain in place and continue to be enforced. I'm aware of that legislation. I would encourage Congress to continue to let this administration have flexibility to support negotiations. We should be aware of unintended consequences".