Ukraine accepts Trump's deal to trade minerals for military aid
- Chethana Janith
- Feb 5
- 5 min read
Chethana Janith, Jadetimes Staff
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter and sub-editor covering science and geopolitics.
Ukraine previously offered access to its rare earth minerals in hopes of keeping the Trump administration engaged in its fight with Russia.
As Ukrainian officials considered how to sway a skeptical President Donald Trump to continue supporting their country, one strategy was to appeal to Trump’s businesslike approach by offering a deal - rare earth minerals - in exchange for something in return.
Now, Trump says he’s interested.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump expressed that the United States wants Ukrainian rare earth minerals - such as lithium, uranium, and titanium - in exchange for the security assistance that Ukraine relies on for its defense against Russia’s invasion. “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.
With continued U.S. support for Ukraine in doubt since Trump’s election, officials in Kyiv viewed Trump’s interest in Ukraine’s rare earth commodities as a positive development that could get him invested in the country’s future. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first suggested providing the United States with the materials during his meeting with Trump ahead of the November election.
A senior Ukrainian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said Tuesday that Zelensky’s administration is “ready to sign documents about joint agreements” and that “having a strategic U.S. interest in Ukraine is a key component to our security in the future.”
Trump’s interest in Ukraine’s offer of a barter for military aid could serve as a road map for how countries negotiate with his administration moving forward. While repeatedly criticizing past U.S. spending on support for Ukraine, Trump has promised to soon broker a deal to end the three-year war with Russia. This left some Ukrainian officials uneasy over whether the United States - by far the biggest supplier of weapons to Ukraine - would continue sending critical aid if a ceasefire isn’t reached this year.
Trump’s comments on Monday suggested that he is willing to continue arming Kyiv - as long as there is something in it for Washington. With many of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals concentrated in the country’s east, where Russia has occupied the most land and continues gaining ground, Trump might be more incentivized to help Ukraine push back the invading forces, the senior Ukrainian official said.
Probably of particular interest to Trump are Ukraine’s prospective deposits of lithium - used for high-tech components, such as microchips and electric cars. Russia is also interested in Ukraine’s natural resources, and one major lithium reserve is within 10 miles of the front line in the Donetsk region. Analysts estimate that Moscow has already seized control of more than $12 trillion-worth of Ukrainian energy assets, metals, and minerals.
The exact quantity of Ukraine's mineral resources remains something of a mystery, though they are believed to be worth trillions. The Ukrainian official acknowledged that estimates are outdated and that new surveys would need to be conducted according to international standards.
During a forum hosted by the Kyiv-based Build Ukraine think tank last month, Denys Aloshin, the director of strategic development at UkrLithiumMining, said lithium resources in one central Ukrainian deposit are estimated at 42 million tons, according to their study.
Part of the Ukrainian pitch to Trump highlighted that China has already invested in acquiring rare earth minerals from Africa and Latin America, so this marks an opportunity for the United States to compete with its adversary.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked that Trump wants Kyiv “to buy aid,” indicating that Washington is no longer willing to provide weapons to Ukraine for free. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had perhaps the harshest criticism of Trump’s bid to tie future assistance to Ukraine’s rare earth resources, calling the move “very selfish, very self-centered.” He added that Ukraine would need those minerals to rebuild its struggling economy after the war. “It’s about Ukraine being able to finance its reconstruction,” he told reporters in Brussels late Monday.
A European diplomat said Ukraine has discussed with its allies using earnings from those resources for reconstruction— “not so much just giving them to another state or exchanging them for weapons.”
The viability of Trump’s proposal could depend “on how exactly it’s meant by Trump,” the diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations.
He noted it would be somewhat different if the plan was to reach agreements on trade conditions or exclusive licensing access. “For now, we are in the process of figuring out what is a negotiating technique and what is meant literally,” the official said.
In his comments on Monday, Trump suggested the minerals would be “a guarantee” for funneling money and equipment to Ukraine and reiterated his long-held belief that Europe should bear more responsibility. “Look, we have an ocean in between. They don’t,” he said. “It’s more important for them than it is for us.”
In preparation for Trump’s return to the White House and the anticipated more quid pro quo approach from the new administration, European leaders have made overtures, including suggestions to buy more weapons from U.S. companies.
A second European diplomat said countries are “open to looking at things in a more transactional way,” though “not at all costs, and not on all issues.”
European countries have already been increasing their military spending to the highest levels since the Cold War - partly due to Trump’s past urging that NATO allies should spend more on defense. This has also been driven by Russian threats and a growing recognition that European security should be less dependent on the whims of Washington. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has recently warned that European countries will have to spend even more.
European countries have also moved to boost their share of funding for Kyiv to hedge against potential changes in U.S. policy. However, as major European allies face economic challenges, maintaining the flow of funds and weapons in the long run will be a struggle, especially if the United States scales back its sizable portion of military aid. Many acknowledge that losing American political support on Ukraine could also shift the tide of the war in Russia’s favor.
Ukraine has struggled on the battlefield as nearly three years of fighting have worn down weapons stocks and depleted its ranks. Russia has also hammered cities with nightly bombardments targeting the country’s critical infrastructure.
On Tuesday, a Russian missile strike on the northeastern city of Izyum destroyed part of the city council building, killing at least five people and injuring 50 others.
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