Ukraine finalizes rare earth elements partnership memorandum with US – source

Ukraine has finalized a memorandum of understanding regarding a partnership in the development of rare earth metals and submitted it to the United States, according to reports from public broadcaster Suspilne and RBC-Ukraine, citing a source in the Ukrainian delegation at the Munich Security Conference. This was confirmed by a source in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's team to LIGA.net.

"During a phone call on Wednesday, Zelenskyy and [Donald] Trump agreed that Ukraine would finalize the memorandum project on partnership and submit it to the Americans at the Munich Conference. Ukraine has submitted the document, and the U.S. side has requested time until 5:00 PM Friday to review it," the message stated.

Earlier in February, Trump expressed his desire to reach an agreement with Ukraine regarding access to the country's rare earth minerals as a condition for continued U.S. support in the war against Russia. Zelenskyy supported the initiative.

On February 11, Trump announced that Ukraine had "essentially agreed" to provide the U.S. with access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion in exchange for military aid.

The Victory Plan includes provisions for investments in the mining sector.