Ukraine has agreed to enter into a major minerals deal with the United States. This comes after sustained pressure from US President Donald Trump who has signaled his intention to negotiate with Russia to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.
According to a report by the BBC, the United States is likely to continue supplying Ukraine with equipment and ammunition until a deal with Russia is reached. The BBC quoted the US president saying that supplies were likely to continue “until we have a deal with Russia… We need to have a deal, otherwise it’s going to continue.”
A related report that was published by the CNN stated that “negotiations have been ongoing for days over a deal that could grant the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as part of wider negotiations to end Russia’s invasion, as well as US involvement in a reconstruction fund for Ukraine.”
According to Trump, the US had given Ukraine between $350 billion to $500 billion since the war began without getting anything in return.
“We want to get that money back. We’re helping the country through a very very big problem… but the American taxpayer now is going to get their money back plus,” the BBC quoted Trump as saying.
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The new minerals deal with US comes barely days after President Trump launched a scathing attack at Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, labeling him a ‘dictator’ who had started the war with Russia.
The verbal attack followed Zelensky’s refusal to accept a $500 billion deal from US for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, and his subsequent claim that Trump was living in a ‘disinformation space’ created by Russia. Zelensky had then gone to declare that he would not sell off his country. However, Trump’s overtures towards Russia appear to have shaken him, resulting in the current proposed minerals deal with US.
