Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently in Washington, DC, for talks with US President Donald Trump on rare earth minerals and ending the war with Russia.
The leaders are expected to finalise an agreement on Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
Zelenskyy’s visit comes after French President, Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also visited the White House this week to discuss Ukraine and European defence spending.
According to data from Ukraine’s Economy Ministry, the country holds deposits of 22 out of the 34 minerals classified as critical by the European Union.
Ukraine also holds reserves of rare earth elements (REEs), a group of 17 metallic minerals essential for high-tech applications in electronics, defence, aerospace and renewable energy, including lanthanum, cerium and neodymium.
According to the UN’s Russian-language news service, Ukraine’s critical mineral reserves made up approximately 5 percent of the global supply as of 2022.
Its critical minerals include precious and non-ferrous metals, ferroalloys and minerals such as titanium, zirconium, graphite and lithium.
Ukraine also accounts for 7 percent of the global production of titanium.
US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent said that the deal set to be finalised today at the White House is about “strategic minerals, oil and gas, and infrastructure assets.”
“It’s really a win-win because it brings the Ukrainian people and the American business community closer together. It shows the American people that there is upside here for them, that we have not squandered the money.”
Scott Bessent
Trump has repeatedly said that the rare earth minerals deal aims to “recoup” the aid Washington has provided to Kyiv throughout the war.
Rare Minerals Deal Deemed A Win For Both Ukraine and US
Mattia Nelles, a Political Analyst with the German-Ukrainian bureau opined that the rare earth minerals deal is a win for both Ukraine and the US.
Nelles told a news agency that Ukraine is “getting the promise of future American investments.”
“There are no security guarantees involved in that part of the package yet, but it’s clear that any future investment will require real security guarantees.”
Mattia Nelles
Nelles added that the country will get “future access to the Ukrainian markets.”
“And this is what they desire, so Donald Trump can walk away from this claiming that he, in about two weeks, negotiated a deal which is beneficial to both the US and Ukraine.”
Mattia Nelles
Also, Nelles stated that there needs to be a US security backstop for Ukraine, as well as European involvement in any deal to bring a lasting peace to the country.
“For future guarantees to really matter, there have to be boots on the ground. It cannot just be the French and the British, there has to be a European contingent on the ground to secure certain parts of the front, or certain critical infrastructure.”
Mattia Nelles
He explained that while European and Ukrainian leaders have been sidelined in recent bilateral US-Russia talks, “complaining alone will not get [Europe] a seat at the table.”
“Europeans have to make huge adjustments to their own defence spending, like the British have announced, to get the ear of the Americans and increase their own defence capabilities.
“But we also have to structure our long-term commitment to Ukraine … [and] ramp up support for Ukraine so that the Americans and Russians see that we are committed to maintaining European security and defending Ukraine.”
Mattia Nelles
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