Ukraine’s rare earth minerals: Where are they and why does Trump want them as agreement looms?
The US is pushing for a deal that would grant it 50 per cent of Ukraine’s revenues from critical minerals, oil, gas, and stakes in key infrastructure, such as ports, through a joint investment fund.
Despite Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky rejecting an earlier version, negotiations have intensified, with Ukraine’s parliament speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, saying that Kyiv aimed to conclude the deal by 24 February, marking the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Olha Stefanishyna, who is responsible for Ukraine’s European and transatlantic relationships, also posted on X: “Ukrainian and US teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement.
“The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalised,” she said in a post that was taken down on social media for several hours before being reinstated.
The details of the draft offer reportedly guarantee Ukrainian sovereignty which had been an issue with earlier Trump proposals. These had said nothing about the future security for Ukraine but demanded it raise $500bn in payback for money spent by the US in defence of the country.
On Sunday, Mr Zelensky pushed back against the Trump administration’s demands for billions in Ukrainian natural resources as part of the minerals deal. “I am not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to repay,” Mr Zelensky had said, indicating that negotiations would continue. He estimated that repaying $500bn using Ukraine’s natural resource revenues could take 250 years, calling the amount unrealistic.
“If we are forced and we cannot do without it, then we should probably go for it,” he, however, added.
Meanwhile, a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion passed despite US and North Korean opposition, and Mr Trump suggested the deal was close to completion.
The US president announced earlier that the war-torn country was on board with his plan. “We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths,” Mr Trump said. “I told them that I want the equivalent of like $500bn worth of rare earths, and they’ve essentially agreed to do that.”
The Kremlin jumped on the comments, saying it demonstrated the US is no longer willing to provide free aid to Kyiv before adding that it was against Mr Trump giving any help to Ukraine whatsoever.
Below, we look at where these resources are in Ukraine, and why Kyiv has struggled to mine these minerals.
Ukraine is sitting on one of Europe’s largest deposits of critical minerals, including lithium and titanium, much of which is untapped. According to the Institute of Geology, Ukraine possesses rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium, used in TVs and lighting; neodymium, used in wind turbines and EV batteries; and erbium and yttrium, whose applications range from nuclear power to lasers. The EU-funded research also indicates that Ukraine has scandium reserves but detailed data is classified.
Mr Zelensky has been trying to develop these resources, estimated to be worth more than £12 trillion, based on figures provided by Forbes Ukraine, for years.
In 2021, he offered outside investors tax breaks and investment rights to help mine these minerals. These efforts were suspended when the full-scale invasion started a year later.
