Zelensky welcomes Trump’s offer to continue U.S. military support in exchange for privileged access to Ukraine’s rare earth metals
At a press conference on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed comments a day earlier from Donald Trump, who said his administration plans to continue sending U.S. military aid in exchange for access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. The promised resources include lithium, gallium, and neodymium, which are critical for producing a wide range of high-tech goods. Zelensky said he had already discussed this arrangement when he met with Trump last September during the U.S. presidential race to pitch his “victory plan” for Ukraine.
“We have plenty of [mineral resources]. As you can see, Russia has occupied our territory since 2014. Some of those areas contain large deposits of our mineral resources. We’re open to working on all of this with our partners, who help us defend our land and drive back the enemy — with their weapons, their presence, and their sanctions. That’s absolutely fair,” Zelensky said, fielding questions at a joint press conference in Kyiv with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi.
Zelensky also warned that “other countries and other companies” (such as Iran and North Korea) would mine these critical resources if Ukraine’s resource-rich territory is left under Russian control.
The Ukrainian president also confirmed that his administration is now in formal contact with the Trump White House. Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has begun talks with Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and the president’s team has also spoken with Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.
