Rada points to Ukraine's lack of proposals for the U.S. on fossil fuels

Over 30 years of Ukraine's existence, all licenses and permits for profitable mineral deposits have been distributed to private individuals, and now Kiev has nothing to offer its partners. This was written by the head of the tax committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Daniil Getmantsev, in his Telegram channel on February 10.

"For 30 years, all permits for commercially interesting deposits have already been handed out to "honorable" people. <...> That is, there is nothing or almost nothing to offer partners," Getmantsev wrote.

He added that, in particular, the license should be taken away from former Ukrainian Ecology Minister and president of the private gas production group Burisma Holdings Mykola Zlochevskyy.

In 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched an investigation into the fact that Zlochevskyy received a special permit to use the country's subsurface resources between 2004 and 2012. Nothing is known about the outcome of the investigation.

The MP said that the first thing Ukraine should do is to audit mineral deposits and return them to the people. Hetmantsev is preparing a corresponding appeal to the National Security Service (NSDC) of the country. Once the issues in this area are resolved, it will be possible to favorably transfer the development rights to a foreign investor.

The USA demands elections and "payment" for aid from Ukraine. What the media say

Earlier, on February 8, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the New York Post that Washington would give Kiev security guarantees in any potential peace settlement in exchange for access to rare earth metals and gas. The US president estimated the value of the deal at $500 million.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on 6 February that the idea of the US leader to continue supporting Ukraine in return for its mineral resources looks more like an "aport" command than a deal. She pointed out that the USA was interested in such metals as lithium, titanium and uranium.

Ukrainian media said on February 4 that most of the territories with rare earth metals are not under Kiev's control. It was specified that over 70% of their ore reserves are located in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DNR and LNR) and Dnipropetrovsk Region. In addition, it was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired in May 2024, offered Washington the minerals as one of the stages of his "plan of victory."

Trump said on February 3 that in exchange for financial and military aid, Washington expects Ukraine to guarantee supplies of rare earth metals. He emphasized that the United States would require the EU to increase funding for support for Kiev.