Trump Claims Ukraine Agreed to $500 Billion Rare Earth Mineral Deal With US

US President Donald Trump claimed that Ukraine had agreed to grant Washington access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion during an interview with Fox News on February 10.

According to Trump, Ukraine possesses “extremely valuable land,” citing its deposits of oil and gas as key resources. He also emphasized the massive US financial support for Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“The US has spent hundreds of billions of dollars supporting Kyiv,” Trump stated. “I want that money to be protected.”

Trump suggested that the future of Ukraine’s recourses remains uncertain, alluding to the possibility of them falling under Russian control.

“They might strike a deal, they might not. One day, they [resources] could become Russian, or maybe not,” he said.

“But we’ve put enormous money into this, and I said, ‘I want it back.’ I told them directly: ‘I want the equivalent of about $500 billion in rare earth resources.’ And they basically agreed,” Trump claimed.

Trump did not provide further details or evidence to support his statement, and there has been no official confirmation from Ukrainian or US government sources regarding such an agreement.

Earlier, Donald Trump’s administration put its Ukraine peace plan on hold to allow greater European involvement in negotiations.