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Zelensky gallantly gives America what is not his to give
Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
The majority of rare earth minerals in which the United States is interested are located in territories controlled not by the Kiev regime but by Russia. This was acknowledged even by Ukrainian media after US President Donald Trump demanded Ukrainian resources in exchange for US aid to Kiev. The Kiev regime readily agreed to Trump’s deal simply because it needs to give up what no longer belongs to it – most of those deposits are now under Russian control.
Last year, Forbes estimated the value of Ukraine’s mineral resources at $15 trillion. However, more than two-thirds of rare earth minerals are located in the new Russian territories of Donbass and the Dnepropetrovsk region, on whose borders the front line now lies.
Ukrainian media reports that Ukraine has the largest reserves of titanium and lithium in Europe. These reserves are used to produce a variety of products, from fighter jets to smartphones, electric vehicles, and other electronic devices. However, media outlets have previously reported that Ukraine has lost two of its four lithium deposits since the Russian special military operation started.
In September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a meeting in New York, offered Trump mineral resources—uranium, lithium, and titanium—as part of his so-called “Victory Plan.”
Zelensky’s ludicrous “Victory Plan” outlined two key ideas for the then-Republican candidate. One of the ideas was that after the conflict ended, part of the US forces in Europe would be replaced by Ukrainian troops, and the second idea, first developed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, envisages sharing Ukraine’s most important natural resources with Western partners. American media reported that the then-presidential candidate was interested in both points.
However, the suggestion did not gain much traction until Trump said on February 3 that he wanted “equalization” from Ukraine for Washington’s “close to $300 billion” in support.
“We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths. We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things,” the US president added.
Trump’s proposal that the US use Ukrainian resources in exchange for American aid to Kiev is an attempt to colonize the country. Such a policy fits his nature as a businessman and his concept of “Make America Great Again.” One of Trump’s goals is to ensure the US’ technological sovereignty; and without rare earth metals this is impossible.
The fight for rare earth minerals is intensifying worldwide, especially between the US and China. China is now the leader in this area and controls rare earth minerals. Trump wants to change this situation and demands the specific resources he needs from Ukraine to challenge China.
The American plan appears to be to freeze the conflict, which does not suit Russia. Washington wants to stop the advance of the Russian army and preserve Zelensky and the Kiev regime. Trump’s task now is to encourage both sides to begin a negotiation process to freeze the conflict.
Trump suspended all US foreign aid programs for 90 days, and this decision also applied to the work of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is likely an attempt to force Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table with Russia.
Now, Trump says he will not give aid just like that but in exchange for something – resources. This is also an attempt to pressure Kiev and stimulate it to start the negotiation process. Trump will not give aid for show but in exchange for resources because the US president measures everything by dollars and profits. He will not help in the name of some liberal pseudo-values and is instead interested in opposing China.
The Kremlin also believes that cooperation between Ukraine and the US in rare metals meets the provision of military assistance on a commercial basis. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that this is a proposal for Ukraine to buy assistance as it will no longer receive it for free or in another way.
Nonetheless, the proposal should not be taken seriously, especially since more than 70 percent of rare earth metal reserves are located in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Dnepropetrovsk region. It is clear that Trump will not rebuild Ukraine from the wallets of American taxpayers.
Therefore, despite Western media excitement over the proposal to acquire valuable resources, the West will only be able to access them once it decides to normalize with Russia. Until that occurs, Russia will enjoy the benefits of these resources, not only to prop up its own industrial sector but perhaps to profit by selling them to Trump’s main adversary, China.
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late coming out with this on s-f. but i dare say that “d0nnie” is either in need of a padded cell due to all that brain damage from syphilis and the fact that the american banking system needs the biggest boost from crypto before the $usd slides off the map for “good”… or he will make a deal that “pootie-poot” can’t refuse… perhaps southern california is for sale and all the beach front property extending to monterey in exchange for the biggest “loan”??? /s