President Donald Trump is seeking $500 billion in rare earth minerals from Ukraine as part of a deal to continue U.S. military aid. This proposal has sparked significant backlash from leftist and corporate media, particularly after Trump remarked that Ukraine “may be Russian someday.”
During an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, Trump explained his reasoning: “I want to have our money secured because we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars. They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday.”
In a recent development, President Trump announced that Ukraine has agreed to repay U.S. aid by providing $500 billion worth of rare earth minerals. “They have tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth, in terms of oil and gas. I want to have our money secured because we’re spending…” he stated.
As of February 12, 2025, the United States has provided Ukraine with $65.9 billion in military assistance.
Trump has claimed that Ukraine has “essentially agreed” to the deal. “We are going to have all this money in there, and I say: ‘I want it back.’ And I told them that I want the equivalent, like $500 billion worth of rare earth,” Trump said. “And they have essentially agreed to do that, so at least we don’t feel stupid.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed openness to a resource deal. “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” Zelenskyy told Reuters. “We need to stop Putin and protect what we have — a very rich Dnipro region [in] central Ukraine.”
Andrii Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, also emphasized Ukraine’s willingness to collaborate with the U.S. “We are interested to work, to develop, with our partners, first of all, with the United States,” Yermak told the Associated Press.
Rare earth elements, which include 17 essential materials used in consumer technologies like cellphones, hard drives, and electric vehicles, are a critical focus of the proposed deal. While it remains unclear which specific elements Trump is seeking, Ukraine possesses a variety of valuable minerals.
“It can be lithium. It can be titanium, uranium, many others,” Yermak said. “It’s a lot.”
China, the world’s largest producer of rare earth elements, is a key geopolitical rival of the U.S. Both the U.S. and Europe have been working to reduce their reliance on Beijing for these critical resources.
For Ukraine, securing continued military support from its most significant ally is crucial. The country has been engaged in conflict with Russia since the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. A deal involving rare earth minerals could help ensure that U.S. aid remains uninterrupted, providing vital support for Ukraine’s defense efforts.
