Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine “may be Russian someday” as senior officials in his administration prepare to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky this week.
Speaking amid renewed discussions of a potential peace deal, the U.S. president also claimed that Ukraine had agreed to provide the U.S. with $500 billion worth of rare earth minerals in return for its financial and military support.
“They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
“I told them I want the equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earth [minerals], and they’ve essentially agreed to do that, so at least we don’t feel stupid,” he added.
Ukraine is estimated to hold around $12 trillion in untapped rare earth and critical minerals, though it could take years before such resources are extracted and transferred to the U.S. under any agreement.
“We’ve invested all this money in [Ukraine], and I say, I want it back,” Trump stated, making clear that he expects Kyiv to compensate the U.S. for the billions of dollars in aid it has received.
Following Trump’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that “a significant part” of Ukraine is already Russian.
“The fact that a significant part of Ukraine wants to become Russia, and has already, is a fact,” Peskov said, referring to Moscow’s 2022 annexation of four Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. However, these annexations remain unrecognized by the international community, and Russian forces do not fully control any of the four territories.
On Monday, Trump also confirmed that General Keith Kellogg, his special envoy for Russia-Ukraine, will visit Kyiv as the administration refines its plan to end the war, which is approaching its third anniversary. Kellogg had originally been scheduled to present Trump’s peace proposal at the Munich Security Conference but delayed the announcement to allow European leaders to participate in the negotiations.
Nevertheless, elements of Trump’s plan—including the proposal to exchange Ukraine’s rare earth minerals for continued U.S. military aid—are still expected to be discussed in Munich. Another key component of the proposal involves freezing the conflict along the current battle lines, effectively recognizing Russian control over roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory, primarily in the southeastern Donetsk region.
According to President Zelensky, high-level members of Trump’s administration will visit Ukraine before the Munich Security Conference.
“This week, some serious figures from President Trump’s team will be in Ukraine, even before the Munich conference,” Zelensky said, as reported by Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
The Ukrainian president also stated that he is working on arranging a meeting with Trump, who suggested he would “probably” meet with Zelensky soon. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is expected to meet Zelensky on Friday at the Munich conference.
Zelensky reiterated his calls for “real peace and effective security guarantees” for Ukraine on Monday.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow remains open to negotiations—so long as Russia’s “legal national interests” are upheld.
Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out his conditions for a peace agreement in June last year, demanding that Ukraine abandon its NATO aspirations and withdraw its forces from all four regions claimed by Russia.
Trump and Putin have reportedly discussed potential solutions to the war, with Trump telling the New York Post that the Russian president “wants to see people stop dying.”
The Kremlin has declined to confirm or deny the reported call between the two leaders.
Comments
Post a Comment