The United States and Ukraine said Sunday they are nearing an agreement for Kyiv to give Washington a large share of its rare earth mineral rights as compensation for the billions of dollars in munitions the U.S. sent to Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s full-scale war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv that Ukraine and the U.S. are “making progress” in reaching a deal. He said a draft of the pact calls for Ukraine to pay the U.S. $2 for each dollar in aid the U.S. has sent to Kyiv to fight Russia’s invasion, although details of the would-be agreement have not been disclosed.
The war hits the three-year mark on Monday.
The U.S. has been Ukraine’s biggest benefactor, sending $128 billion in military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The U.S. share is just ahead of the combined $124 billion figure for the 27-nation European Union.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he expects Zelenskyy will sign the minerals deal this week.
Zelenskyy at first rejected the U.S. demand for half of Ukraine’s rare earth mineral supplies, which are used in the production of technology products. Witkoff signaled in the CNN interview that the deal will now be completed although he did not spell out details of the agreement.
Witkoff said that European countries made their contributions to Ukraine’s war efforts after reaching agreement with Kyiv to eventually be paid back, but the U.S. had no such understanding.
Witkoff said such U.S. support for Ukraine with no repayment terms made “no sense” to President Donald Trump, a long-time New York real estate deal maker before entering politics in 2015.
Zelenskyy said, "I had an agreement with [former U.S. President Joe] Biden and American Congress, I am grateful to the Congress, to the both parties. And it was support by providing grants. Grant is not a loan. And we don't have to return the loan here. Maybe someone does not like it and thinks that it's unjust. Maybe. I don't know. But here is what this deal was about. It was grant. Therefore, it's not about the figure. We simply don't see it as a loan."
Trump, who last week called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and accused him of starting the war even though Russia invaded Ukraine, has demanded the repayments and blamed his predecessor, Biden, for not securing some form of compensation guarantee.
Zelenskyy said Sunday he wants Trump to "understand" his position and come through with concrete security guarantees to help Kyiv defend itself against the Russian invasion.
"I want very much from Trump understanding of each other," Zelensky said at his news conference, adding: "Security guarantees from Trump are much needed."
Zelenskyy said he was willing to give up his presidency if it meant peace in Ukraine, quipping that he could exchange his departure for Ukraine's entry into NATO, which Russia is adamantly opposed to.
"If [it means] peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready," Zelenskyy said. "I can exchange this for NATO [membership], if that condition is there, immediately."
The top U.S. and Russian diplomats, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, met in Saudi Arabia without either Ukrainian or European officials last week to lay the groundwork for peace talks to end the war. Zelenskyy complained about Ukraine being excluded from the talks, but Trump said he could have negotiated with Russia beforehand to talk Moscow out of invading.
“I’ve had very good talks with Putin, and I’ve had not such good talks with Ukraine,” Trump told U.S. state governors at the White House.
“They don’t have any cards, but they play it tough,” Trump said of Ukraine.
Russian state television said in recent days that Trump’s view of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is “in total alignment with the way we see things.”
Witkoff said the war “wouldn’t have had to happen” if Ukraine hadn’t been pushing at the time for membership in NATO. Kyiv is still pressing to join the 32-nation pact, but Washington says it is unrealistic for that to happen as part of a negotiated peace settlement to end the war.
Witkoff said that eventually “you’ll see concessions signed by both sides” in a peace deal.
Russia now controls about one-fifth of the internationally recognized Ukrainian territory, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying Sunday Moscow has no intention of yielding any of the land back to the Kyiv government.
"The people decided to join Russia a long time ago," he said, referring to Moscow-staged votes in eastern Ukraine held amid the three-year offensive that were assailed as bogus by Kyiv, the West and international monitors.
"No one will ever sell off these territories,” Peskov said. “That's the most important thing."
A Trump call with Putin two weeks ago set the stage for the Rubio-Lavrov talks in Saudi Arabia.
"This is a dialogue between two extraordinary presidents," Peskov told state TV.
Russia on Sunday marked Defender of the Fatherland Day — a holiday hailing soldiers and veterans. In a video released by the Kremlin, Putin said God and fate had entrusted him and his army with "the mission" to defend Russia.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said Russia launched 267 overnight drone attacks on Ukraine, which he condemned as "aerial terror." Ukrainian officials reported damage in five regions of the country.
Zelenskyy said that in the past week, Russia has targeted Ukraine with nearly 1,150 attack drones, more than 1,400 guided aerial bombs and 35 missiles of various types.
Some material in this report came from Reuters.
