Trump admits Ukraine could one day become Russia

TheUSA wants to "return" the money allocated to Ukraine by the US government because one day it "may become Russia". This was stated by American President Donald Trump on February 10.

"They have a land of tremendous value in terms of rare earth metal reserves, oil and gas, other things. I want our money to be safe. Because we're spending hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars. They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may become Russia someday. May not become Russia," Trump said during an interview with Fox News channel, which was broadcast on his YouTube channel.

The American leader added that he wants the equivalent in the form of rare earth metals worth about $500 billion. According to him, this way the United States does not feel foolish.

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 9 February, the head of the Verkhovna Rada's tax committee, Daniil Hetmantsev, said that over the 30 years of Ukraine's existence, all licenses and permits for lucrative mineral deposits were handed out to private individuals, and now Kiev has nothing to offer its partners.

On 6 February, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said 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.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid the Russian Federation's special operation to protect Donbas, the launch of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.