President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is demanding Ukraine provide the United States with access to its vast reserves of rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military and financial assistance.
“We’re telling Ukraine, they have very valuable rare Earth. We want what we put up to go in terms of a guarantee. We want a guarantee,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office.
“We’re handing them money hand over fist. We’re giving them equipment. [The] European [Union] is not keeping up with us. They should equalize.”
“Look, we have an ocean in between. They don’t. 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.
“They should really be paying much more than us, but let’s say equal to us. And they’re billions and billions of dollars below. So 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 said.
President Trump wants a Guaranteed Right to Ukraines Rare Earth Minerals, at Least Equal to the Amount of aid the US Provided in War
This is pretty huge considering what’s there and what it’s worth:
• Lithium: Estimated reserves around 500,000 tons.
—— Lithium is crucial… pic.twitter.com/BKE1gFyBqn— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) February 3, 2025
Trump’s demand signals a dramatic shift from the Biden regime’s blank-check approach, which has funneled almost $200 billion in military and economic assistance to Kyiv since Russia’s 2022 invasion—often with little oversight.
With Ukraine’s government continuing to rely heavily on U.S. aid, Trump is making it clear that there will be no more free rides under his leadership.
As of September 30, 2024, U.S. funding for the Ukraine response had reached nearly $183 billion, with $130.1 billion committed and $86.7 billion already distributed, according to Ukraine Oversight.
Ukraine possesses significant reserves of critical minerals, including titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel, according to the World Economic Forum.
These minerals are essential for various high-tech industries, such as aerospace, defense, electronics, and renewable energy.
Russian forces have already captured key mining regions in Eastern Ukraine, including much of the coal-rich Donbas. However, vast supplies of strategic minerals remain under Ukrainian control in the Dnieper River basin and the Carpathian Mountains.
The United States relies heavily on imports for many of these critical minerals, with China currently dominating the global supply chain.
Reports indicate that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously entertained the idea of leveraging his country’s mineral wealth to maintain U.S. military support, according to New York Post.
A joint statement from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last year confirmed that Zelensky was “excited” about working toward a strategic agreement regarding Ukraine’s trillion-dollar mineral reserves.
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