President Donald Trump introduced Monday that he’s demanding Ukraine present the USA with entry to its huge reserves of uncommon earth minerals in trade for continued army and monetary help.
“We’re telling Ukraine, they’ve very useful uncommon Earth. We would like what we put as much as go when it comes to a assure. We would like a assure,” Trump instructed reporters from the Oval Workplace.
“We’re handing them cash hand over fist. We’re giving them tools. [The] European [Union] isn’t maintaining with us. They need to equalize.”
“Look, now we have an ocean in between. They don’t. It’s extra necessary for them than it’s for us. However they’re method under us when it comes to cash, and they need to be paying at the very least equal.
“They need to actually be paying far more than us, however let’s say equal to us. And so they’re billions and billions of {dollars} under. So we’re seeking to do a take care of Ukraine the place they’re going to safe what we’re giving them with their uncommon Earth and different issues,” Trump stated.
President Trump desires a Assured Proper to Ukraines Uncommon Earth Minerals, at Least Equal to the Quantity of help the US Offered in Struggle
That is fairly large contemplating what’s there and what it’s price:
• Lithium: Estimated reserves round 500,000 tons.
—— Lithium is essential… pic.twitter.com/BKE1gFyBqn— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) February 3, 2025
Trump’s demand indicators a dramatic shift from the Biden regime’s blank-check strategy, which has funneled virtually $200 billion in army and financial help to Kyiv since Russia’s 2022 invasion—usually with little oversight.
With Ukraine’s authorities persevering with to rely closely on U.S. help, Trump is making it clear that there shall be no extra free rides below his management.
As of September 30, 2024, U.S. funding for the Ukraine response had reached practically $183 billion, with $130.1 billion dedicated and $86.7 billion already distributed, based on Ukraine Oversight.
Ukraine possesses vital reserves of vital minerals, together with titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel, based on the World Economic Forum.
These minerals are important for numerous high-tech industries, comparable to aerospace, protection, electronics, and renewable vitality.
Russian forces have already captured key mining areas in Japanese Ukraine, together with a lot of the coal-rich Donbas. Nevertheless, huge provides of strategic minerals stay below Ukrainian management within the Dnieper River basin and the Carpathian Mountains.
The US depends closely on imports for a lot of of those vital minerals, with China presently dominating the worldwide provide chain.
Studies point out that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had beforehand entertained the thought of leveraging his nation’s mineral wealth to take care of U.S. army assist, based on New York Post.
A joint assertion from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) final 12 months confirmed that Zelensky was “excited” about working towards a strategic settlement concerning Ukraine’s trillion-dollar mineral reserves.
