President Donald Trump has said that Ukraine has “essentially agreed” to give the United States access to $500 billion worth of deposits of rare earths and critical minerals.
“They have tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth [minerals], in terms of oil and gas, in terms of other things. I want to have our money secured because we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars [in Ukraine],” Trump told Fox News.
He said the United States is owed “more than $300 billion, probably $350 [billion]” over its support of Ukraine and that Europe is “in for probably $100 billion.”
“I told [Ukraine] that I want the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earth [minerals], and they’ve essentially agreed to do that,” Trump said.
Securing supply chains for these elements, which have no practical substitutes, has been a priority for Trump as he seeks to strengthen the United States’ manufacturing base.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters on Feb. 10, “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it.”
He said that Ukraine’s need for security guarantees from its allies has to be part of any settlement.
“The Americans helped the most, and therefore the Americans should earn the most. And they should have this priority, and they will. I would also like to talk about this with President Trump,” Zelenskyy said.
Rare earth metals, a group of 17 essential elements, play a key role in powering modern technology, from electric vehicle motors to missile guidance systems.
According to a map that Zelenskyy showed to Reuters, there are numerous mineral deposits in Ukraine. He said less than 20 percent of Ukraine’s mineral resources, including about half its rare earth deposits, were under Russian occupation.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had Europe’s largest reserves of titanium, used in aerospace, automotive, and medicine, as well as uranium, a metal that is the primary fuel source for nuclear power reactors and weapon production.
Many of the titanium deposits were marked in northwestern Ukraine, far from the fighting, he said.
He claimed that Russia knew in detail where Ukraine’s critical resources were from Soviet-era geological surveys.
He also said that Kyiv and the White House were discussing the idea of using Ukraine’s large underground gas storage sites to store U.S. liquefied natural gas.
“I know that the Trump administration is very interested in it. We’re ready and willing to have contracts for LNG supplies to Ukraine. And of course, we will be a hub for the whole of Europe,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump said on Friday that he expected to talk to Zelenskyy this week.
Zelenskyy said there were regular contacts between his team and Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, and national security adviser, Michael Waltz.
Cost Burden of Arming Ukraine
Speaking with reporters at the White House on Feb. 3, Trump reiterated a complaint that the United States has carried much of the cost to arm and fund Ukraine in the ongoing Russian–Ukraine war and said other nations in Europe should begin to take on a larger share of the burden.“Look, we have an ocean in between. They don’t,” Trump said of Europe’s proximity to the ongoing conflict. “It’s more important for them than it is for us, but they’re way below us in terms of money, and they should be paying at least equal.”
Trump raised the possibility of Ukraine reimbursing the United States for the aid it’s receiving by trading rare earth minerals.
“We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things,” Trump told reporters.
The Epoch Times has contacted the Ukrainian government for comment.
