Trump to Trade Ukraine’s Earth Minerals for Weapons Aid

President Trump announced on Monday, February 3, 2025, to reporters that he was willing to consider shipments of Ukraine’s earth minerals in payment for financially supporting Ukraine’s war efforts against Russia.

"We're telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths," Trump said. "We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earths and other things."

According to Reuters, there are 17 rare earth metals used to make magnets and batteries that power electric vehicles, cell phones and other electronics.

In recent articles for Reuters and Newsweek, it was reported that Ukraine holds trillions of dollars’ worth of uranium, lithium and titanium deposits but none of those deposits are in the top five globally by volume. While the United States has large deposits of rare earth metals of our own, we have not tapped them.

China is currently the world’s largest producer of rare earth and other important metals. Global competition for essential minerals and metals has become the next geopolitical contest between countries that the United States needs to win.

President Trump is right.

Ukraine can help the United States maintain its position as the largest economy by welcoming U.S. businesses to invest in its earth minerals and metals industry and partner on common commercial interests. The unlocked funds would support Ukraine in winning the war against Russia and secure its sovereignty.

However, according to Forbes, 70% of Ukraine’s $14.8 trillion of critical mineral resources are located in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Luhansk oblasts.

Canadian geopolitical risk firm SecDev said in an analysis for The Washington Post that Russia controls most of Donetsk and Luhansk which has an estimated $12.4 trillion of Ukraine’s energy, metal and mineral deposits.

Ukraine’s access to its mineral and metal resources in the occupied territory will be essential for it to fund its reconstruction and pay back its allies like the United States. It’s critical these resources do not end up in the hands of Russia or China.

This will be a key negotiation point between the United States, Ukraine, and Russia in the weeks ahead.