Trump Shamelessly Demands Ukraine Hand Over Its Rare Earth Minerals As Repayment For Funding The War Against Russia. Zelensky Loves The Idea
“We are open to American companies investing in Ukraine – and with pleasure,” Zelensky said.
President Donald Trump yesterday indicated that he is demanding that embattled Ukraine fork over its rare earth minerals as a way to repay the United States for is hundreds of billions in military support, something warhawks in Washington have salivated over for a long time.
In a meeting with press reporters in his office, Trump explained his ambitions, stating:
We're telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earth. We want what we put up to go in terms of a guarantee, we want a guarantee, we want we're handing them money hand over fist.
We're giving them equipment, [Europe] is not keeping up with us, they should equalize. And look, we have an ocean in between, they don't, it's more important for them than it is for us, but they're way below us in terms of money and they should be paying at least equal, they should really be paying much more than us, but let's say equal to us, and they have billions and billions of dollars below.
So we're looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earth and other things.
Though Trump did not clarify exactly which minerals we was referring to, Ukraine is indeed a treasure-trove for minerals that play a big part in global supply chains. According to a 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF) report, “Ukraine holds immense potential as a major global supplier of critical raw materials essential for these high-profile industries. With vast reserves of minerals, Ukraine can significantly contribute to the global supply chain for many or all of them.”
The WEF specifically detailed Ukraine's vast mineral resources:
“Ukraine’s diverse geological zones make it a top 10 global supplier of mineral resources, holding around 5% of the world’s total. The east European nation has approximately 20,000 mineral deposits covering 116 types. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, 3,055 of these deposits (15%) were active, including 147 metallic and 4,676 of non-metallic mineral deposits.
“Ukraine is a key potential supplier of rare earth metals, including titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel. Despite the war, Ukraine holds the largest titanium reserves in Europe (7% of the world’s reserves). It is one of the few countries that mine titanium ores, crucial for the aerospace, medical, automotive and marine industries.
“Before February 2022, Ukraine was a key titanium supplier for the military sector. It also has one of Europe’s largest confirmed lithium reserves (estimated at 500,000 tons), vital for batteries, ceramics, and glass. Ukraine is the world’s 5th largest gallium producer, essential for semiconductors and LEDs, and has been a major producer of neon gas, supplying 90% of the highly purified, semiconductor-grade neon for the US chip industry.
“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. Zirconium and apatite are vital for nuclear and medical production. The country is also known for its substantial, high-quality iron ore and manganese reserves, which are crucial for green steel production. Ukraine supplied 43% of the EU’s steel plate imports in 2021.
“Additionally, Ukraine holds significant reserves of nonferrous metals such as copper (4th in Europe), lead (5th), zinc (6th), and silver (9th). Nickel deposits (215 thousand tons) and cobalt (8.8 thousand tons) are found in the secure Kirovohrad and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Ukraine’s graphite reserves represent 20% of global resources. The country also ranks among the top 10 globally for minerals, including bromine, magnesium metal, manganese, peat, pig iron and kaolin, among others.
“Access to Ukrainian resources could help democratic countries achieve greater autonomy from non-democratic regimes, particularly in energy and technology,” Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska, Founder, Green Resilience Facility.
Trump’s latest statement on the war - after campaigning to end it on “day one” after his inauguration, and even at one point saying he would strike a deal to end the war before he took office - is something that others in Washington have expressed is a big reason why the United States cannot stop funding Ukraine, because of the country’s plethora of rare earth minerals.
For example, last year GOP Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.) told CBS’ Face The Nation that a big reason why the U.S. cannot relent in its support and war against Russia is because Ukraine is mineral-rich.
They’re sitting on 10 to 12 trillion dollars of critical minerals in Ukraine. They could be the richest country in all of Europe. I don’t want to give that money and those assets to Putin to share with China.
If we help Ukraine now, they can become the best business partner we ever dreamed of. That 10 to 12 trillion dollars of critical mineral assets could be used by Ukraine and the West, not given to Putin and China.
This is a very big deal how Ukraine ends. Let’s help them win a war we can’t afford to lose. Let’s find a solution to this war.
But they’re sitting on a gold mine. To give Putin 10 or 12 trillion dollars of critical minerals that he will share with China is ridiculous.
Graham would go on to say something similar in November, World Affairs in Contextreported, where Graham flat-out told Fox News that “this war is about money,” and Ukraine holds “$2 to $7 trillion worth of minerals […] so it is within our interest to make sure Russia doesn’t take over the place.”
But this has been understood by world leaders and special interests from the start. After Graham’s remarks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov acknowledged this and said American companies have already scooped up most of the land.
“It is no coincidence that US Senator Lindsey Graham said outright (he is not a diplomat and does not hide his thoughts), that the US needs to ensure that Russia suffer a defeat in Ukraine, because there are many rare-earth metals, including lithium," Lavrov said. "He said so to Vladimir Zelensky when he visited him recently. He said that the US needs these riches. And he added that they would help Ukraine and in return they would take all this from it as payback."
"They keep talking about the 'Black Sea initiative', about the need to feed Africa. First of all, the West exported more than 50% of grain to the European Union, and not to Africa. American corporations made money on this grain. And they want to do the same to the rest of our neighbor's wealth,” he added.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also stated the [not-so] obvious [to the common masses] truth in June last year:
“The fact is that the Western warmongering leaders want to defeat Russia in this war, and the reason is rather simple—it is money.
“Consider Ukraine’s capabilities: It is a rich country that is hugely indebted… Ukraine’s wealth can be acquired and divided, the agricultural land, the economic opportunities, and who knows what else.
“They wish to go back to the 90s, when not only Ukraine, but also Russia was available, those resources, wealth, money… Many Americans and Europeans remember the 90s as a period of great economic opportunities, when they were welcomed without any obstacles into the Russian economy, and started to transform and exploit it.”
But, apparently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is okay with this. Palki Sharma of India’s Firstpost noted that Trump’s plan to seize Ukrainian minerals was actually a concept Zelensky came up with per his so-called “Victory Plan.”
On October 16th, 2024, Zelensky released his five-point “Victory Plan,” the fourth point being allowing other countries and other private interests to take advantage of the land’s dense resources. Straight from Zelensky’s website, it says:
“The fourth point is strategic economic potential. Ukraine offers its strategic partners a special agreement for the joint protection of the country's critical resources, as well as joint investment and use of this economic potential.
“This involves natural resources and critical metals worth trillions of U.S. dollars, including uranium, titanium, lithium, graphite, and other strategically valuable resources, which are a significant advantage in global competition.
“The deposits of critical resources in Ukraine, along with Ukraine's globally important energy and food production potential, are among the key predatory objectives of the Russian Federation in this war. And this is our opportunity for growth,” the President said.
“This point also has a secret annex that is only shared with designated partners.”
Sharma said that this strategy is “tailor-made” for Trump to “keep him interested in the war.” “So don’t think that Trump is driving a hard bargain here, or he’s plundering Ukraine’s wealth: he’s simply taking up Zelensky’s own offer. The question is, how will this play out?”, she asked.
Zelensky has since officially responded to Trump’s remarks, and he is completely on board and welcomes Trump’s statements. Zelensky told RBC Ukraine:
"We have enough rare earth metals, and you can see that Russia has been occupying our territories since 2014. Part of these territories indeed has large deposits of minerals. We are open to having our partners, who help us defend the land, develop these resources. They push the enemy back with their weapons, presence, and sanctions. And this is absolutely fair.
"We are open to American companies investing in Ukraine – and with pleasure. Why? Because if Russia controls this area, other countries and companies will step in. I’m sure among them will be Iran and North Korea. I spoke about this with him – these are the facts. I would like American businesses, which are very interested in entering the Ukrainian market, to develop this direction with us.”
It is worth remembering that in the closing days of 2022, the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock struck a deal with Zelensky to '“rebuild Ukraine” once the war is over. Zelensky “thanked Larry Fink for the work of the professional team that BlackRock has allocated to advise on structuring the reconstruction projects,” according to an official press release from Zelensky’s office.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted to the news, saying, “In other words, it is a proposal to buy aid, meaning not to continue to provide it free of charge or otherwise, but to provide it on a commercial basis. It is better, of course, not to provide aid at all, thus contributing to the end of this conflict.”
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
As the old saying goes, all wars are banker wars; and, in the words of two-time U.S. Medal of Honor recipient Major General Smedley Butler, "War is a racket."
Ecclesiastes 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. [10] For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Obviously this war was never about preserving or fighting for “democracy,” it has always been to strip Ukraine of its resources; and it matters not that untold hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men (I think it is around 700,000 now), entire generations, are gone as their blood soaks the land and the mass-graves continue to pop-up: these bloodthirsty demoniacs will sacrifice anyone and anything to increase their power and wealth. It’s all just a means to an end: “to the very last Ukrainian!”
And not just Ukraine, but Europe’s economy and supply of energy has been completely destroyed in sacrifice to the insatiable greed of American and private multinational interests.
And as I said, remember when Trump kept spouting that ruse that he was going to end the war when he took office? Well, now it is patently obvious in front of everyone’s eyes that the war is most likely not going to end anytime soon, as a lot of the minerals and resources the U.S. wants is currently being occupied by Russia. But there is a lot of celebration on social media right now by MAGA supporters, believing that Ukraine needs to pay its dues for all the money we’ve given them - oblivious to the fact that this means more war, and neither does it mean that Americans are going to see this money returned to them to make their lives easier, while they celebrate more raping and pillaging of foreign lands at the expense of other people’s lives! But that’s the American way.
Psalm 140:1 Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; [2] Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. [3] They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah. [4] Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.
Do we not also find it interesting that this comes just a few days after Zelensky admitted to the Associated Press that over half of the funds that we allegedly gave him are “missing?”
Zelensky Admits That Half Of US Aid To Ukraine Is Missing, Receiving $75B Out Of $177B Allocated: “I Don’t Know Where All This Money Is.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted in a recent interview that he has not received the full amount of military funding, claiming over half of it, roughly $100 billion of the total $177 billion gifted to Ukraine over the last several years, is missing.
Imagine if all the money spent on Ukraine, and more money to come, along with all the other wars and occupations we invest in, was spent directly on Americans: infrastructure, manufacturing, education, agriculture, healthcare, clean food, etc.? Observe:
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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There is something wrong with this picture. So the former comedian sitting on veritable gold mine in rare earth minerals is enthusiastic about willingly turning them over, right on the heels of a major scandalous revelation in the United States of which he played a significant role? Something is fishy.