Trump pushes to control all of Ukraine’s mineral and energy assets in sweeping new demands for deal

Donald Trump is seeking US control over all of Ukraine’s rare minerals and energy assets – including oil and gas – in extraordinary new proposals to Kyiv.

Trump’s latest proposals go far beyond the minerals deal that collapsed last month during Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous White House visit, multiple news outlets reported on Thursday.

The new deal would see the US receive all royalties from such assets until Ukraine has paid off at least $100bn of war debt, and hand Kyiv just 50 per cent thereafter – while offering no guarantees of security from Russian aggression in return.

Furthermore, it would hand the US a veto over any sales of the Ukrainian resources to other nations, potentially blocking any future path for Ukraine to join the European Union.

One Kyiv official described the proposal as “robbery” to the Financial Times, while Alan Riley, an expert on energy law at the Atlantic Council, told The Telegraph: “I’ve never seen anything like it before … I have to wonder whether the real intention might not be to force Zelensky to reject it.”

Under the latest proposals, all of Ukraine’s mineral and energy assets – and related infrastructure, such as ports, railways, roads and production facilities – would be placed under the control of a new United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, based in Delaware.

Three of the new fund’s five board members would be chosen by the US, handing Washington full veto power over resource sales to any third parties.

The US would receive all royalties from the fund until Ukraine has paid off at least $100bn of war debt, plus 4 per cent interest, after which point Kyiv would receive just 50 per cent of the royalties.

Washington would receive a “right of first offer” on investments in all infrastructure and natural resources projects, while Ukraine would be prevented from intervening in the fund’s day-to-day management, Bloomberg reported.

Profits from the fund would be converted directly into foreign currency, with Ukraine to be held liable for compensation in the event of delays or disputes, according to the FT.

Three senior Ukrainian officials told the outlet that a deal is unlikely to be signed next week, contrary to claims in Washington. One is reported to have labelled the new US draft proposal “unfair”, while another described it as “robbery”.

A third official was quoted as saying that Kyiv has enlisted a team of legal advisers to help examine the document – which was reportedly delivered to Ukraine last weekend – as they prepare a counter-offer.

Describing it as an “expropriation document”, Mr Riley said: “There are no guarantees, no defence clauses, the US puts up nothing. The Americans can walk away, the Ukrainians can’t. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Noting that the new proposals are “not compatible with EU membership”, the trade expert added: “Perhaps that is part of the purpose.”

Following a meeting of Ukraine’s European allies in Paris on Thursday to discuss a possible peacekeeping force, Mr Zelensky said the US had been “constantly” changing the terms of the proposed minerals deal with Ukraine – but added that he did not want Washington to think Kyiv was against the deal.

“We support cooperation with the US, we don’t want to give a single signal that can prompt the US to stop aid to Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said, highlighting the pressure being leveraged by Washington over an ally trapped in an existential war against Russia.

While the US said on Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a Black Sea and energy ceasefire, Ukrainian officials accused Russia on Thursday of damaging energy infrastructure in Kherson with artillery strikes. 

“Two days ago, there was a night when there were no strikes on the energy sector, today energy infrastructure in the city of Kherson was damaged by Russian artillery,” Mr Zelensky said in Paris. “I believe that the US should respond with actions.”

“Our side, as long as no one understands who is monitoring what,” he said. “All this [evidence] will be prepared and transferred to the US, and after that we are waiting for America’s reaction, since they told us that they will respond to violations.”

Mr Zelensky and his Western allies previously accused Russia of “manipulation” over the deal, after Moscow demanded that the Black Sea truce – which will disproportionately benefit Russia – could only begin once Western sanctions on food and agriculture exports were lifted and a key bank reconnected to the Swift messaging system.

Meanwhile, Washington is reported to be holding talks with the Kremlin over plans to restore Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine and later through the Nord Stream pipelines, while handing a major stake to US firms.