By SAMYA KULLAB, Related Press
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has provided to strike a take care of U.S. President Donald Trump for continued American army help in alternate for creating Ukraine’s mineral business, which might present a useful supply of the uncommon earth parts which might be important for a lot of sorts of expertise.
Trump mentioned that he wished such a deal earlier this month, and it was initially proposed final fall by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv’s hand in future negotiations with Moscow.
“We really have this big potential in the territory which we control,” Andrii Yermak, chief of employees to the Ukrainian president, mentioned in an unique interview with The Related Press. “We are interested to work, to develop, with our partners, first of all, with the United States.”
Here’s a have a look at Ukraine’s uncommon earth business and the way a deal may come collectively:
What are uncommon earth parts?
Uncommon earth parts are a set of 17 parts which might be important to many sorts of shopper expertise, together with cellphones, onerous drives and electrical and hybrid autos.
It’s unclear if Trump is searching for particular parts in Ukraine, which additionally has different minerals to supply.
“It can be lithium. It can be titanium, uranium, many others,” Yermak mentioned. “It’s a lot.”
China, Trump’s chief geopolitical adversary, is the world’s largest producer of uncommon earth parts. Each the U.S and Europe have sought to cut back their dependence on Beijing.
For Ukraine, such a deal would be sure that its greatest and most consequential ally doesn’t freeze army help. That may be devastating for the nation, which has been at struggle for practically three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
The concept additionally comes at a time when dependable and uninterrupted entry to crucial minerals is more and more onerous to come back by globally.
What’s the state of the Ukrainian minerals business?
Ukraine’s uncommon earth parts are largely untapped due to the struggle and due to state insurance policies regulating the mineral business. The nation additionally lacks good info to information the event of uncommon earth mining.
FILE – Ukrainian servicemen of twenty fourth Mechanized Brigade prepare not removed from the entrance line within the Donetsk area, Ukraine, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Picture/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Geological knowledge is skinny as a result of mineral reserves are scattered throughout Ukraine, and current research are thought-about largely insufficient. The business’s true potential is clouded by inadequate analysis, based on businessmen and analysts.
On the whole, the outlook for Ukrainian pure sources is promising. The nation’s reserves of titanium, a key part for the aerospace, medical and automotive industries, are believed to be amongst Europe’s largest. Ukraine additionally holds a few of Europe’s largest recognized reserves of lithium, which is required to provide batteries, ceramics and glass.
In 2021, the Ukrainian mineral business accounted for six.1% of the nation’s gross home product and 30% of exports.
An estimated 40% of Ukraine’s metallic mineral sources are inaccessible due to Russian occupation, based on knowledge from We Construct Ukraine, a Kyiv-based assume tank. Ukraine has argued that it’s in Trump’s curiosity to develop the rest earlier than Russian advances seize extra.
The European Fee, the chief department of the European Union, recognized Ukraine as a possible provider for greater than 20 crucial uncooked supplies and concluded that if the nation joins the 27-nation EU, it might strengthen the European economic system.
What occurs subsequent?
Particulars of any deal will seemingly develop in conferences between U.S. and Ukrainian officers. Zelenskyy and Trump will in all probability focus on the topic after they meet.
U.S. firms have expressed curiosity, based on Ukrainian enterprise officers. However placing a proper deal would seemingly require laws, geological surveys and negotiation of particular phrases.
It’s unclear what sort of safety ensures firms would require to danger working in Ukraine, even within the occasion of a ceasefire. And nobody is aware of for positive what sort of financing agreements would underpin contracts between Ukraine and U.S firms.
Susie Blann contributed to this report.
Initially Printed: February 11, 2025 at 7:30 AM EST
