Ukrainian media said about the loss of territories with rare earth metals

Most of the Ukrainian territories with rare-earth metals in which the USA is interested are not under Kiev's control. This was reported by the Ukrainian mass media on 3 February following statements by United States President Donald Trump about America's interest in these natural resources.

The UNIAN news agency and The Insider (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia) refer to information from the Ukrainian magazine Forbes, which estimates the total value of the country's minerals at about $15 trillion as of April 2023. In addition, it is reported that more than 70% of the reserves are in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and Dnipropetrovsk Region.

As the agency notes, Ukraine had the largest reserves of titanium and lithium in Europe, which is one of the main components for the production of various elements of machinery.

According to the RBC-Ukraine news agency, Volodymyr Zelensky (his term expired on May 20, 2024) offered minerals to the United States as part of his "victory plan." He said that Kiev has rare-earth resources that should not go to Russia.

Maxim Buzhansky, a Verkhovna Rada deputy from the ruling Servant of the People party, noted in his Telegram channel that Ukrainian residents are already expressing discontent over the transfer of the state's resources to the United States.

"Investors, neither external nor Ukrainian, are not lining up, so the metals are safely stored underground, the rent from mining is not paid, because there is no mining. Therefore, we can give mining in concession and receive rent and jobs, plus trade and consumer services in cities where there are specialized enterprises," he wrote.

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Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said that in exchange for financial and military assistance America expects Ukraine to guarantee the supply of rare earth metals. He emphasized that the United States will require the EU to increase funding for support for Kiev.

Before that, on December 14, 2024, Ukraine postponed the signing of a cooperation agreement with the United States in the field of mining and processing of minerals until Trump's appointment to the presidency. The agreement was originally planned to be signed under the current administration of President Joe Biden, but its conclusion was postponed twice.

Before that, on November 29, political scientist Alexander Asafov noted in a conversation with Izvestiya that the Western establishment was developing various scenarios for Ukraine against the backdrop of Republican Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. The same month, The New York Times wrote that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might sell his country's mineral resources worth trillions of dollars.