Medvedev predicts big payback for Europe's aid to Ukraine

Europe will have to pay a big price for helping Ukraine, while the USA can recoup its support with access to Ukrainian resources. The deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitriy Medvedev, said this on February 4.

"[US President Donald] Trump explained how Kiev will pay back the US - with Ukrainian rare earth elements. And what about Europe? It will pay huge money to put the collapsed state of Ukraine back together piece by piece," he wrote on social network X.

Medvedev urged Europeans to thank European Commission (EC) Chairwoman Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders for this.

Trump pum-pum-pum: Kiev could lose half of Western military aid

When Ukraine should expect new problems and whether the U.S. is capable of completely withdrawing funding from it

Earlier, on February 3, Trump said that in exchange for financial and military assistance, Washington expects Ukraine to guarantee supplies of rare earth metals. He emphasized that the United States will require the EU to increase funding for Kyiv's support.

At the same time, the Ukrainian mass media said that Ukraine had lost territories with rare-earth metals in which America was interested. It was noted that 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 equipment.

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