Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed US demands for $500 billion in mineral wealth as repayment for wartime aid.
Zelenskiy pointed out that the United States had not provided that amount in assistance, nor did the agreement offer concrete security guarantees. Under pressure from Trump’s administration, Zelenskiy stated that Washington had supplied Ukraine with $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in direct budget support throughout the nearly three-year war with Russia.
“You can’t call this 500 billion and ask us to return 500 billion in minerals or something else. This is not a serious conversation,” Zelenskiy asserted.
Trump had previously declared his desire for $500 billion in rare earth minerals from Kyiv to secure US assistance. Zelenskiy said his team had proposed a deal that Kyiv declined to sign in its current form, due to the lack of security provisions necessary to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression.
Additionally, Zelenskiy mentioned that the draft deal suggested the US take ownership of 50% of Ukraine’s critical minerals.
