- Ukraine is nearing a deal to grant the U.S. access to its rare minerals in exchange for continued political and, perhaps, military support, though negotiations face challenges since 40% of these resources are in Russian-occupied territory. With Trump pushing for access to these minerals while also engaging in talks with Russia, Ukraine faces uncertainty over its strategic partnerships as it navigates its war effort and economic future.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly inching closer to signing a deal that gives the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare minerals in return for continued political support in its war with Russia.
With the deal unsigned and Ukrainian officials letting little slip—barring brief quotes given to the Financial Times and the BBC—details of what access to such materials could mean for America’s economy and Ukraine’s war efforts are still relatively unknown.
That being said, information about what materials Ukraine has and where they are located presents snags for negotiations. Namely, Ukraine can’t promise access to all its materials when a reported 40% of the minerals are under land currently occupied by Russia.
On top of that, the main motivation for Zelensky agreeing to swap minerals is likely to be in return for military aid from America—which Ukrainian officials say has not been explicitly penciled into the draft.
Despite this, yesterday sources in Kyiv confirmed the terms to share materials—including oil and gas—are almost agreed after months of negotiation.
Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and justice minister, told the FT that “the minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the U.S. administration that it’s part of a bigger picture.”
The proposal was reportedly first tabled by Zelensky in September, when he shared with the then presidential hopeful a “victory plan.”
Since then negotiations have gone back and forth on whether America would be handed the rare minerals directly, or whether it would have a stake in a fund paid for by proceeds from Ukraine’s resources, per reporting from the FT.
What are the rare minerals President Trump wants to get hold of?
According to the Ukrainian Geological Survey, a central executive body based in Kyiv, the nation’s resource potential for green technology is one of the “richest in the world” courtesy of its rare mineral deposits.
For America—which is seeking to wean itself off a dependency on China for materials to build the likes of EVs, for example—this is an attractive opportunity.
Conveniently, the White House has supported the Ukrainian effort to the tune of more than $100 billion. President Trump seemingly wants to call that debt in, previously requesting access to 50% of its rare minerals.
“Ukraine is among the top 10 producing countries for titanium, zirconium, graphite, and manganese, and also has proven reserves of metals such as lithium, beryllium, rare-earth elements, and nickel,” the Ukrainian Geological Survey adds.
Lithium, magnesium, graphite, and nickel are all core components in building electric vehicle batteries, for example.
But Ukraine’s resource potential also reaches into the industries of defense, tech, aerospace, and green technologies.
Per the World Economic Forum, Ukraine holds 7% of the world’s reserves of titanium, and is “one of the few countries that mine titanium ores, crucial for the aerospace, medical, automotive, and marine industries.”
“Ukraine boasts confirmed deposits of beryllium, which is crucial for nuclear power, aerospace, military, acoustic, and electronic industries, as well as uranium, which is essential for nuclear and military sectors,” the WEF continues.
Are the minerals easy to access?
Zelensky and Ukrainian research bodies have continually warned that the state now doesn’t have access to around half of the resources it previously held.
Given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, think tank We Build Ukraine, for example, says 40% of the reserves are now inaccessible owing to Russian occupation.
Moreover, the European country has been at war for three years, presenting major infrastructure and safety issues if the resources are to be recovered.
James Cowan, CEO of the HALO Trust, a humanitarian demining organization which is working in Ukraine, warned earlier this month that the nation is now at the mercy of 150,000 square kilometers planted with explosives and mines.
“Any proposals to tap Ukraine’s mineral wealth will need to incorporate a plan for the clearance of the land mines if it is to be remotely viable,” he warned at a security conference.
Russian diplomats are reportedly drawing up proposals to deter America from closer ties to Ukraine—using the minerals under occupation as bait.
NBC reported this week that advisors to President Vladimir Putin had approached the Trump administration about agreeing to terms to access minerals in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya, two areas which have been annexed by the Russians.
How does this help Ukraine?
The transition of relations from the Biden administration to the Trump team has been a bumpy one for Ukrainian officials.
President Trump has called the Ukrainian politician a dictator and accused him of starting the conflict with Russia.
“Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left,” the president added on his social media platform, Truth Social. “In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump administration, can do.”
This message has been parroted by Trump ally and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, who wrote on X—the social media platform he owns—that: “Either Zelensky holds an election to prove that he represents the will of the people or he is a dictator.”
Trump, meanwhile, has declined to call President Putin a dictator and told media in France earlier this month: “I don’t use those words lightly.”
With billions of dollars in aid and significant political influence over the rest of the world, Washington, D.C., isn’t a friend Ukraine can afford to lose in the face of a continued Russian onslaught.
President Trump’s tone was more accommodating yesterday when discussing military support for Ukraine alongside the raw minerals deal.
He told reporters: “We’ll be looking at security, you’re talking about general security for Ukraine later on. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, there are a lot of people who want to do it. I spoke with Russia ... they’re not going back in. Once we do this they’re not going back in.”
