President Donald Trump announced on 3 February he wants to secure access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued US military support.
“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 at the White House, according to Reuters.
Trump criticized European allies’ level of support, claiming, per AP, that the US had provided more military and economic aid to Ukraine than its European partners. However, according to the Kiel Institute, as of late October 2024, Europe had allocated €124.7 billion in aid and pledged an additional €115.9 billion, while the US had allocated €88.3 billion and pledged €30.7 billion.
“I want to have security of rare earth. We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it.”
A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously to the New York Times, indicated Ukraine’s willingness to work with the US on rare earth mineral deals, provided adequate security guarantees against Russian control of these resources.
The proposal aligns with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “Victory Plan” presented last year, which offered western allies access to what officials described as “trillions of dollars” of raw materials, Bloomberg reports.
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