Zelensky, Trump discussed Ukraine's $15T mineral swap deal
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, discussed with Donald Trump in the fall of 2024 the possibility of offering Ukraine's rare earth metal deposits to key partners in exchange for security guarantees, according to Ukrainian media reports.
The Suspilne portal, citing sources in the Ukrainian president's office, noted that Zelensky included the issue of rare earth metal resources in his "victory plan," aiming for cooperation with the United States.
According to one of the portal's sources, to ensure the utilization of these resources, "it is necessary to guarantee security so that the Russians do not seize the lands where they are located."
Similar reports were presented by the RBC-Ukraine portal, which—citing an anonymous source close to the president—stated that this is an issue that "President Zelenskyy discussed this issue with Donald Trump during their meeting last fall."
The President of the United States suggested on Monday that he expects Ukraine to secure American access to rare earth metals in exchange for continued military support. "We're telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths. 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," Trump stated.
He also added: "We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it.."
However, he did not specify exactly what such an agreement would entail, merely emphasizing that Kyiv is showing interest in this potential solution.
Deposits worth trillions of dollars
Ukraine possesses significant resources crucial to the global economy, and control over them was one of the reasons for Russia's aggression against the country. As analysts from the Polish Chamber of Ecology recalled in a report from 2023, Ukraine has vast reserves of industrial metals, some of the largest rare earth metal resources in Europe, and promising lithium deposits.
According to estimates, the so-called Volyn-Azov Shield region may contain 550,000 tons of lithium, often referred to as "white gold" due to its importance in the green transition, especially as a key component of lithium-ion batteries.
The value of metal deposits in Ukraine is estimated at 10-12 trillion dollars, with part of these deposits located in areas currently occupied by Russia.
Meanwhile, Forbes estimated in 2023 that the value of these deposits reaches 15 trillion dollars, with as much as 70 percent located in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions—currently occupied by Russian forces.
