Ukrainian President Zelensky said it would be difficult for Ukraine to “survive” without military support from the United States. However, Kyiv refused to hand over mineral deposits to the Trump administration. How rich and valuable are Ukraine’s resources?
According to the Washington Post , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just rejected a US proposal to hold about 50% of the country's rare earth mineral mining rights and is trying to negotiate a better deal.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed the deal to Mr. Zelensky on February 12 during a visit to Kyiv after US President Donald Trump said he wanted $500 billion in rare earth minerals from Ukraine in exchange for Washington's support for Kyiv.
Mr Bessent said the mineral deal with Washington would give Ukraine a post-war “security shield”.
In a phone call with Mr. Putin on February 12, Mr. Trump left Europe bewildered by the possibility that he would negotiate peace for the war in Ukraine with Russia without Kyiv's participation.
Ukraine also faces concerns about losing US support, as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Kiev's goal of regaining all of its territory, or becoming a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is unrealistic.
Mr. Zelensky said he was proposing a mutually beneficial partnership to jointly exploit resources, not "freebies".
Ukraine has proposed a new draft agreement that would open the door to US investment in critical minerals such as rare earths, titanium, uranium and lithium. But many details remain to be agreed, especially on the security guarantees Ukraine needs to protect itself from Russia.
So what is the scale and value of Ukraine's mineral deposits, including rare earths, and why did the Zelensky administration refuse to immediately agree to hand over mining rights to the US?
Ukraine - Europe's mineral treasure
Ukraine is one of the countries with the richest mineral resources in the world and the leading one in Europe. According to estimates of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Ukraine owns about 5% of the total global mineral reserves. Notably, Ukraine has large reserves of titanium, lithium, uranium, coal, iron, nickel and especially rare earths - important raw materials in semiconductor technology, lithium-ion batteries, military equipment, etc.
Ukraine has one of Europe’s largest deposits of lithium, essential for the production of electric vehicle batteries and energy storage devices. Titanium is a strategic metal in aerospace and defense production. Ukraine also has significant deposits of beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorspar and nickel.
According to Independent , Ukraine's mineral resources are estimated at more than 12,000 billion USD.
According to Forbes, about 7 trillion USD of Ukraine's total mineral assets are located in Donetsk and Lugansk.
These are the two territories that joined Russia in 2022.
Its wealth of resources has made Ukraine a region of special geopolitical value, attracting the attention of major powers, especially the United States and the European Union (EU).
It can be seen that one of the important factors shaping Ukraine's future is the huge mineral reserves that this country possesses.
US-Ukraine Mineral Deal: A Rare Great Opportunity for the US?
The mineral agreement between the US and Ukraine is considered an important solution to reduce the US's dependence on the supply chain of important minerals such as rare earths, titanium... from China and Russia.
The US wants to invest in mining and mineral processing infrastructure in Ukraine, while ensuring that a large portion of strategic mineral output will be exported to the US market.
A mineral deal between the United States and Ukraine could help Ukraine recover its economy, rebuild its mining industry, create thousands of jobs and a large source of revenue for the national budget, and integrate into the Western economy.
For the US, a mineral deal with Ukraine would be a huge win for Washington, especially as the US embarks on a global trade war. The deal would help put pressure on Russia, which controls much of Europe’s supply of titanium and rare earths.
If Ukraine were to become an alternative supplier, it could undermine Moscow’s geo-economic position. The deal would also present Russia with a fait accompli, forcing Russia and the US to negotiate on the issue. This is because about 50% of Ukraine’s rare earth reserves are located in regions that Russia has annexed and controls.
Rare earth is a particularly important mineral, an indispensable raw material for many high-tech industries, cutting-edge engineering, or the production of submarines, missiles, etc. It is considered a "strategic weapon" and a trump card in the trade war between the US and China.
China is the country with the largest rare earth reserves in the world, estimated at about 44 million tons, accounting for 40% of global rare earth reserves. According to Statista, the US imports about 70% of rare earths from China.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/zelensky-tu-choi-thoa-thuan-voi-ong-trump-kho-bau-cua-ukraine-lon-ra-sao-2371723.html
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