Ukraine rejects Trump demand for half its rare minerals
The Washington Post
February 15, 2025
From right, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, second from left, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images)
MUNICH — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected a Trump administration request this week that Kyiv hand over 50 percent of its rare-earth mineral resources — an extraordinary demand that could significantly overshadow the value of aid that has been sent to Ukraine. Ukrainian officials are working on a counterproposal that would still offer Washington more access to the country’s natural resources but would bolster U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, four people familiar with the discussions said.
Zelensky told reporters Saturday that he had not agreed to the Trump administration’s proposal “because it’s not ready yet.”
He said that security guarantees were not part of the U.S. proposal, and that Ukraine needed that in any agreement with the United States.
"We can consider how to distribute profits when security guarantees are clear. So far, I have not seen that in the document,” he told reporters at an annual gathering of U.S. and European security elite.
The request came when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Kyiv on Wednesday, becoming the first Trump Cabinet official to meet the Ukrainian leader, according to two senior Ukrainian officials, two European diplomats and a fifth person familiar with the situation. They and others spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly about the sensitive issue.
The offer and Ukraine’s consideration of it rippled through European diplomatic circles not only for its audacity but also because the war-ravaged country appeared to be seriously considering how to reach a deal in the hope of a commitment from the United States to help defend against Russia’s aggression.
Ukraine’s rare-earth mineral resources could be worth trillions of U.S. dollars, with rising demand in electronics, defense systems, drones, and the clean-energy and automotive industries, among others.
They are difficult to extract at scale, and while Ukraine has some reserves, it does not mine them at the moment. China currently produces the vast majority of rare-earth minerals. Many but not all of Ukraine’s reserves are in territory occupied by Russia.
One of the senior Ukrainian officials said that Kyiv received the proposed U.S. mineral deal just four hours before Bessent met with Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday. In that meeting, the treasury secretary “insisted” that Zelensky sign it immediately. Zelensky did not, the official said.
The Ukrainians continued to discuss the proposal on Friday, when Zelensky met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich. Ukraine has told the Trump administration that it cannot legally sign away its mineral resources in the way proposed by Washington, but Ukrainians have continued to discuss alternatives, two Ukrainian officials said.
The Friday meeting was delayed for several hours when Rubio’s plane experienced mechanical difficulties and had to turn around — buying the Ukrainians valuable time to come up with a counterproposal, one of the officials said.
Zelensky had only a few minutes to read the U.S. proposal before his Wednesday meeting with Bessent, said one person familiar with the discussions.
“Ukraine has theoretically agreed” to the concept of such a deal but disagreed with the lack of U.S. security guarantees listed in the proposal, the person said.
The document Zelensky declined to sign this week was more of a short memorandum of understanding “governed by New York law” than a major international agreement, the person said, adding that it would not have been enforceable.
Ukraine would expect any such deal to last for decades to come and wants such an arrangement to be ratified by its parliament.
The 50 percent idea appears at least partially inspired by Ukraine’s having identified the material as a resource that could help bolster Ukraine’s economy and be tied to Western security assistance. Zelensky first suggested providing the United States with the materials during a meeting with Trump in September, prior to the election.
Trump allies have expanded and seized on the idea as a way to maintain the president’s support for Kyiv.
“Ukraine has value. Literally has value,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said Saturday in Munich at an event sponsored by Politico.
“Trump now sees Ukraine differently,” he said. “These people are sitting on literally a gold mine … I showed him a map.” If the United States is granted Ukraine’s mineral wealth, Graham said, “we will have something to defend. We will have an economic interest in Ukraine we’ve never had. And that’s a nightmare for Putin.”
“Investment now in the Ukrainian critical minerals sector could make a lot of sense. But President Trump’s initial offer seems unreasonable, exploitative, and unlikely to help end the war. This is not a good way to promote American interests.” said Simon Johnson, an economist at MIT who has been involved in helping Ukraine with its economic planning.
“I expect the Ukrainian reaction to be dismay and disbelief,” he said.
O’Grady reported from Kyiv and Stein reported from Washington.
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