Trump seeks Ukrainian rare earth metals for military aid
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that he is demanding Ukraine secure U.S. access to rare earth metals in exchange for further military aid.
"We are telling Ukraine that they have very valuable rare earth metals. We want them to pledge these as collateral. We want assurances because we are handing them money hand over fist," said Donald Trump during the signing of decrees, including one establishing a national sovereign wealth fund.
So we are trying to make a deal with Ukraine where they will secure what we are giving them with their rare earth metals and other things," he added.
Trump did not provide details on what such an agreement would look like but noted that Kyiv is interested in it.
The fate of the war in Ukraine is being decided
U.S. President Donald Trump announced talks on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that both will "do something significant." However, he did not provide details. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured of the Russians' readiness.
Vladimir Putin, in an earlier interview with domestic media, emphasized "good relations" with Donald Trump. He described the American politician as a "wise and pragmatic person" with whom many topics can be discussed.
President Trump claimed that as a result of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, Russia lost 240,000 soldiers, and Ukraine 180,000-210,000. This information comes from a report by the Polish Press Agency.
