NewsBite

Updated

Donald Trump says he wants Ukraine to supply US with rare earths for more US aid

Donald Trump has made a bold proposal to Ukraine in exchange for continued military aid, providing the clearest indication yet of his terms for supporting the war-torn nation.

Russian oil facility ablaze after Ukraine drone strike

Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine in which Kyiv guarantees supplies of rare earth metals, key elements used in electronics, in exchange for aid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had floated such an idea last October as part of his “victory plan” for ending the war with Russia.

“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,” Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine in which Kyiv guarantees supplies of rare earth metals, key elements used in electronics, in exchange for aid. Picture: Getty Images
President Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine in which Kyiv guarantees supplies of rare earth metals, key elements used in electronics, in exchange for aid. Picture: Getty Images

When asked by one reporter if he wanted Ukraine to give the resources to the United States, Mr Trump replied: “Yeah, I want to have security of rare earths.”

Mr Zelenskyy, outlining his plan in October, said one part centred on protecting Ukraine’s natural resources, “including critical metals worth trillions of US dollars.”

He said he would urge Kyiv’s Western partners to secure a “special agreement on joint protection of critical resources available in Ukraine and joint investment and use of the corresponding economic potential.”

FOLLOW UPDATES BELOW:

ZELENSKYY’S BOMBSHELL: ONLY TRUMP CAN STOP UKRAINE WAR

Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that the war with Russia will only end through Donald Trump’s influence, as he criticised Joe Biden’s handling of the war.

The Ukrainian president said that the absence of a strong US presence in Europe allowed Russia to prepare for an invasion and attack in 2022, following a series of “weak, even treacherous agreements.”

Mr Zelenskyy added that the US remains the only country that can now provide “real security guarantees” for Ukraine and said he was “confident that if President Trump wants to, he can force Putin into peace”.

“President Trump’s recent rhetoric about Putin wasn’t just tough – it was fair. And that’s exactly the kind of Trump that Putin fears,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X.

“A strong Trump means a strong America, and a strong America means a strong Ukraine with real security guarantees.

“I am confident that if President Trump wants to, he can force Putin into peace. If the U.S. applies pressure on Putin through the Global South – including China and India—President Trump can negotiate for them to do the same.”

The Ukrainian leader also slammed former President Joe Biden, saying that America’s absence in Europe was “a mistake of the previous administration”.

He also revealed that he had urged Mr Biden to “impose the strongest preventive sanctions” on Vladimir Putin before the full-scale invasion, but was told the US would only take action if Russia actually invaded. Mr Zelenskyy described this response as “illogical.”

The Ukrainian president admitted that the absence of a strong US presence in Europe allowed Russia to prepare for an invasion and attack in 2022. Picture: AFP
The Ukrainian president admitted that the absence of a strong US presence in Europe allowed Russia to prepare for an invasion and attack in 2022. Picture: AFP

And while Mr Zelenskyy mostly praised Mr Trump for his stance on the war, he also criticised the US President for his disapproval of NATO.

“I know President Trump isn’t the biggest fan of NATO topic,” he said.

“But NATO remains the cheapest security guarantee for everyone. What’s the alternative? We need strong security guarantees.”

UKRAINE LAUNCHES MAJOR DRONE ASSAULT ON RUSSIAN OIL REFINERY

A Ukrainian drone attack killed a mother and her toddler in western Russia on Wednesday, local officials said, in a major overnight barrage that set an oil refinery ablaze and targeted a nuclear facility.

The Ukrainian attack over swathes of western Russia is just the latest in a series of escalating Russian and Ukrainian aerial strikes, targeting energy and military facilities over the nearly three-year war.

“The most terrible thing happened as a result of a drone attack on a residential house – a two-year-old child and his mother were killed,” Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod border region said.

Another child and his father were also injured in the strike, he wrote on social media.

Russia’s defence ministry said earlier it had downed 104 Ukrainian drones over western regions including Kursk and Bryansk, with smaller numbers intercepted over Smolensk, Tver, Belgorod and elsewhere.

The Donbas Special Forces Battalion of the 18th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine posted this photo of the Russian drone attack on Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region. Picture: Facebook
The Donbas Special Forces Battalion of the 18th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine posted this photo of the Russian drone attack on Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region. Picture: Facebook

Meanwhile, Ukraine said Russia had also launched an overnight drone attack of its own, resulting in air alerts in multiple Ukrainian regions and damage from debris in several.

The Ukrainian air force said it had downed 29 Russian drones over nine mainly southern and eastern regions.

In the southern city of Kherson, mayor Roman Mrochko said a 52-year-old man had been killed in a Russian drone attack, and in the northeastern Kharkiv region an ambulance driver was hospitalised after a drone attack, the national police said.

PUTIN SAYS ZELENSKYY IS ‘ILLEGITIMATE’

Vladimir Putin said his country could hold peace talks with Ukraine, but ruled out speaking directly with Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him “illegitimate”.

The Ukrainian President responded by saying that his Russian counterpart was “afraid” of negotiations and was using “cynical tricks” to prolong the nearly three-year conflict.

US President Donald Trump has put pressure on both sides to end the fighting since coming into office on January 20, threatening tougher sanctions on Russia while claiming that Mr Zelenskyy is ready to negotiate a “deal”.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP
Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Picture: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Picture: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP

“If (Mr Zelenskyy) wants to participate in the negotiations, I will allocate people to take part,” Mr Putin said, calling the Ukrainian leader “illegitimate” because his presidential term expired during martial law.

“If there is a desire to negotiate and find a compromise, let anyone lead the negotiations there … Naturally, we will strive for what suits us, what corresponds to our interests,” he added.

Mr Zelenskyy said that there was a chance to achieve “real peace” but that the Kremlin chief was frustrating efforts to stop the fighting.

“Today, Mr Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Kyiv has warned against it being excluded from any peace talks between Russia and the US, accusing Mr Putin of wanting to “manipulate” Mr Trump.

‘WAR WOULD END IF THE WEST CUT TIES’

Mr Putin also claimed the fighting would end in two months or less if the West cut its support to Kyiv.

“They will not exist for a month if the money and, in a broad sense, the bullets run out. Everything would be over in a month and a half or two,” Mr Putin said in comments to a state TV reporter.

The conflict has shown no signs of de-escalating despite Mr Trump’s promise to enact a quick ceasefire once in office.

Russia’s army said Tuesday that its forces had captured a large village in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the latest territorial gain for Moscow’s advancing troops.

State Emergency Service rescuers work to extinguish a fire in a building after a drone strike in Kharkiv on January 28. Picture: Sergey Bobok / AFP
State Emergency Service rescuers work to extinguish a fire in a building after a drone strike in Kharkiv on January 28. Picture: Sergey Bobok / AFP

The Russian defence ministry said its forces had “liberated” the village of Dvorichna, which had a pre-conflict population of more than 3000.

The village, located across the strategic Oskil river, was seized by Moscow at the start of its full-scale military offensive in 2022, before being retaken by Kyiv months later in a swift counteroffensive.

Ukrainian military bloggers, with links to the defence ministry, also said Russian forces were advancing on the flanks of Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop town that was home to around 12,000 people before the conflict.

A surface-to-air missile is fired over Chasiv Yar on January 22 where Ukraine has been outgunned and outmanned by Russian troops. Picture: Carl Court / Getty
A surface-to-air missile is fired over Chasiv Yar on January 22 where Ukraine has been outgunned and outmanned by Russian troops. Picture: Carl Court / Getty

Ukraine’s army has been pushed back over the past year, outgunned and outmanned by Russia’s troops across the 1,000km front line.

Ukraine’s government dismissed a deputy defence minister in charge of weapons purchases on Tuesday, after the defence minister accused him of having “failed” to ensure the “timely supply of ammunition” to soldiers.

US FOREIGN AID FREEZE HITS HARD

Numerous Ukraine-based humanitarian projects have had their financing suspended due to the US freeze on foreign aid, prompting alarm in the war-battered country.

Almost three years after Russia’s invasion, Ukraine has become extremely dependent on foreign aid for humanitarian work, with the United States providing billions of dollars of that help.

Organisations that support veterans, local media and healthcare are among those who have had their funding curtailed by Washington, with many small local press outlets and aid groups announcing on social networks that they would have to close as a result.

“Most of the projects have received an order to stop,” a source at the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) mission in Ukraine told AFP.

People march in Kyiv in memory of Belarussians who died for Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Picture: AFP
People march in Kyiv in memory of Belarussians who died for Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Picture: AFP

It came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a halt to virtually all US foreign aid except for funding to Israel and Egypt, according to an internal memo.

Donald Trump signed an order to temporarily suspend foreign assistance programs for 90 days pending reviews of their funding.

A number of Ukrainian and international NGOs wrote on social media that they were affected by the freeze.

Olga Kucher of Veteran Hub told AFP the Ukrainian NGO on Monday had to pause the work of its branch in the central city of Vinnytsia.

People queue outside a bank that closed during an air raid alert in Izyum, Ukraine. Picture: Getty Images
People queue outside a bank that closed during an air raid alert in Izyum, Ukraine. Picture: Getty Images

The organisation offers legal consultations and psychological support to veterans and their loved ones.

“We do not know how long this will last,” she said, adding that the group had launched an appeal asking Ukrainian companies to help fund its operations.

Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, USAID has provided Ukraine with $A4.1 billion in humanitarian aid, $A7.9 billion in development assistance and more than $A30 billion in direct budget support, according to its website.

TRUMP TEAM NOT IN TOUCH WITH KREMLIN: RUSSIA

No-one in US President Donald Trump’s new administration has made contact with the Kremlin about setting up a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have said.

Mr Trump, who took office last week, told reporters he was willing to meet the Russian president “immediately” to reach a deal on ending the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine, but neither side has indicated when talks might happen.

“Contacts with the new administration have not started,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state news agencies on Monday local time, adding there had been no “direct” communication with members of Mr Trump’s administration.

“What we have in terms of dialogue with Washington is carried out through embassies, as before,” he added.

The White House is yet to set up formal talks with Russia regarding the war with Ukraine.
The White House is yet to set up formal talks with Russia regarding the war with Ukraine.

The Kremlin said both leaders appeared ready for a high-level meeting, but that it was still waiting for word from Washington.

“So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans. The readiness remains. The same readiness, as we have heard, remains on the American side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Ukraine crisis has plunged relations between the two nuclear powers to their lowest levels since the Cold War.

In a post on his Truth Social network last week, Mr Trump said he was “not looking to hurt Russia” but would impose more sanctions and hike tariffs on the country if Mr Putin did not make a deal to settle the conflict.

Late last week, Mr Putin said he was ready for talks, praising Mr Trump as a “smart” and “pragmatic” man who might have prevented the Ukraine offensive from starting in the first place.

Kyiv has warned against it being excluded from any peace talks, accusing Mr Putin of wanting to “manipulate” Mr Trump.

– with Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Originally published as Donald Trump says he wants Ukraine to supply US with rare earths for more US aid

Read related topics:Russia & Ukraine Conflict

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/world/trump-team-not-in-touch-with-kremlin-russia/news-story/143a1114f7e3dc376d35e4228ad66c75