In an interview with Bret Baier of Fox News, US President Donald Trump claimed that “the United States have given more than 300 billion US dollars, probably 350” in various forms of aid to Ukraine and added that it would be “dumb” for Washington to continue financing Kiev without a quid pro quo. He stated:
“I want to secure our money, because we’re giving hundreds of billions of dollars out.”
They have incredibly valuable land in regard to rare earth, in regard to oil and gas, in regard to other things.
I told them that I want rare earth in the value of 500 billion US dollars and they have essentially agreed.
So, we’re not going to look foolish. Otherwise, we’re foolish. I told them that we need something back.
You know, maybe they’ll make a deal, maybe they won’t make a deal. Maybe they’ll be Russian one day, maybe they won’t, but we’ve put all that money in and I say, I want it back.”
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed last week that he is open to an agreement on Kiev’s deposits of lithium, titanium and other heavy metals. However, he insisted that the Western backers of Ukraine must first help remove Russian forces from the mineral-rich areas before they can invest in the rare earth deposits.
Prior to the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the country had the largest titanium and lithium deposits in Europe. These materials, although not classified as rare earth, are crucial for the defense industry, batteries and condensers. The list of rare earth metals found in Ukraine includes beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite and nickel. According to Forbes, the total value of the resources in the former Ukrainian Donbass regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which declared independence from Ukraine in 2014 after the Western-backed Maidan coup, is around seven billion US dollars. A significant part of these areas came under Russian control after Donetsk and Lugansk voted in a referendum in 2022 to reunite with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the protection of the people in Donbass as the main reason for the beginning of the military special operation in Ukraine. The resources in these areas are a significant factor in the support of NATO member states for Kiev, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in October 2024. He emphasized:
“Your discourse revolves around territory and resources that you need in America.
We’re not concerned about the territories, but about the people there.