Everything we know about the Ukraine and US minerals deal

A deal that would see Ukraine hand over billions of its mineral wealth to the United States appears to be going ahead. US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the minerals deal since taking office and beginning negotiations to end the war, sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Ukrainian officials have now said a deal which could see up to 50% of Ukraine’s rare minerals – a large part of the nation’s wealth – could be signed when Zelensky visits Washington DC. It’s a sharp U-turn from Zelensky’s original stance on the idea when he said the 50% share of minerals demanded from America was akin to ‘selling his nation’.

Zelensky said he also wants to speak to Trump about using Russia’s frozen assets for mining resource development, weapons purchases and reconstruction of his country. ”I want to coordinate with the US,’ Zelensky said. Zelensky said that the main topics that he wants to discuss with Trump are whether the US plans to halt military aid and, if so, whether Ukraine would be able to purchase weapons directly from America.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Trump said Ukraine agreeing to the deal would mean they have the right to ‘fight on’, adding: ‘They’re very brave. But without the United States and its money and its military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short period of time.’.

Zelensky is expected to visit Washington DC to discuss the minerals issue in the next few weeks. Ahead of Zelensky’s visit, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be flying to Washington to meet with Trump tomorrow. During Prime Minister’s Questions this afternoon, leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch said she and Starmer are ‘are completely united in our support for Ukraine as a proud and sovereign nation.’.

She questioned what steps would be taken to ensure Ukraine would be involved in any peace settlement discussions, and he said: ‘Ukraine must be at the table at negotiations. ‘There can be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine. That has been my consistent position in all of the discussions that I’ve had. That will continue to be my position because this is about the sovereignty of Ukraine and their ability to decide for themselves the future of their country. So they must be at the table.’.

Trump had initially demanded $500 billion worth of Ukrainian minerals – an incredibly large figure, considering since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and the end of 2024, the US gave £54.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine now appears satisfied the deal will lead to a continued flow of US military support in its war against Russia. Some of the rich minerals Ukraine has include graphite, uranium, titanium and lithium, a key component in electric car batteries. Ukraine has the largest lithium resources in all of Europe. Much of the fighting in the war has been centred around areas rich in minerals.

Lanthanum and cerium are used in televisions and lighting – while erbium and yttrium are used in nuclear power and lasers. The untapped mineral resources in Ukraine are estimated to be worth more than £12 trillion, according to Forbes. Since the war in Ukraine began after the 2022 Russian invasion, hundreds of billions in aid have been pledged by the US and other European countries.

The United States soars far above the rest though – with an estimated £120 billion in aid. Germany and the UK come in behind the US in terms of aid. The EU has also donated billions. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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