Washington holds preferential access to the country’s rare earth wealth under a 2025 pact
The US can take “pretty much whatever we want” from Ukraine’s rare earth deposits under a minerals agreement signed last year, President Donald Trump has said, adding that profits from the agreement could ultimately exceed total American aid to Kiev since 2022.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Real America’s Voice aired on Friday as he chastised his predecessor Joe Biden for “giving away” a purported $300 billion in military support to Ukraine without securing repayment.
“He could have Europe… paid for it. All you had to do is ask,” Trump said, adding that under his administration European nations now cover more of the costs.
Trump said Ukraine has “very rich, very fertile soil in terms of rare earth.” “We have a contract signed [with Ukraine] having to do with rare earth. We can go in there at any time we want and take pretty much whatever we want. That was a pretty good deal,” he said.
The US president was referring to a rare earth deal signed in Washington in April 2025, which established the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. The deal grants Washington preferential access to new Ukrainian mineral, oil, and gas projects, with emphasis on elements such as lithium, titanium, graphite, and uranium. Ukraine retains formal ownership of its resources and receives 50% of profits from new extraction projects.
Trump has portrayed the deal as a way to pay for US military aid to Kiev. While he has claimed it amounted to more than $300 billion, the figure is widely disputed, with the US Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve estimating it at $195 billion in total appropriations.
While legally the minerals deal is up and running, with more than a dozen projects currently under review, it remains hamstrung by conflict-related risks, Ukraine’s notorious corruption, inadequate geological data, and risks of power outages, as well as other infrastructure shortfalls.
The deal itself was signed after months of strained negotiations, including a televised Oval Office clash in February 2025 between Trump and Vladimir Zelensky, during which the US president accused the Ukrainian leader of ingratitude and “gambling with World War III.”
After the signing of the agreement, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev remarked that “Trump has broken the Kiev regime to the point where they will have to pay for US aid with mineral resources, adding that “now they will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country.”
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