President Donald Trump has declared that the United States can “take pretty much whatever we want” from Ukraine’s rare earth deposits under a minerals agreement signed in April 2025. The pact, known as the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, grants Washington preferential access to new Ukrainian mineral projects, including lithium, titanium, graphite, and uranium.

Trump stated that the arrangement could generate profits exceeding total U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine since 2022—a figure he claimed was as high as $300 billion, though the U.S. Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve has estimated actual appropriations at $195 billion.

During a recent interview on Friday, Trump criticized his predecessor, President Joe Biden, for “giving away” military support to Ukraine without securing repayment. “He could have Europe… paid for it,” the president said.

The minerals deal faces significant challenges, including ongoing conflict-related risks, Ukraine’s pervasive corruption, inadequate geological data, and infrastructure shortcomings.

A critical moment in the negotiations occurred during a February 2025 Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. In that confrontation, Trump accused Zelensky of ingratitude and reckless behavior, stating that his leadership was “gambling with World War III.”

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently remarked that Trump’s approach has left Ukraine in a vulnerable state, adding that “the Kiev regime will have to pay for U.S. aid with mineral resources” and that “now they will have to pay for military supplies using the national wealth of a disappearing country.”