Ukraine essentially agrees to provide rare earth minerals worth $500 billion – Trump

Ukraine has "essentially agreed" to grant the United States access to $500 billion worth of rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military aid, President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

Trump emphasized the value of Ukraine's natural resources, including rare earth minerals, oil, and gas, and insisted that the U.S. should be compensated for its significant financial and military support.

"They have tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth, in terms of oil and gas, and other things. I want to have our money secured because we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars [supporting Ukraine]," Trump said.

The president argued that the U.S. should have access to Ukraine's natural resources regardless of whether a peace agreement with Russia is successfully negotiated. He noted that the over $300 billion the U.S. has provided to Ukraine exceeds the contributions of other nations.

"They may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russians someday, or may not be Russians someday. We're going to have all this money in [Ukraine]. I say I want it back," Trump said.

Trump is seeking the equivalent of $500 billion in rare earth minerals from Ukraine and claimed that Ukraine has "essentially agreed" to this arrangement.

"I said to them, 'We have to get something. We can't keep paying these bills,'" Trump stated.

He added that continuing to provide aid to Ukraine without compensation would be "foolish."

• On February 3, Trump expressed interest in obtaining Ukrainian rare earth metals in exchange for U.S. military aid.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Trump's demand, calling it "selfish."
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, considers the proposal "absolutely fair." Zelenskyy's "Victory Plan" includes provisions for investing in Ukraine's mining sector.