Former U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of breaking a rare earth minerals deal and benefiting from an American “gravy train” as tensions between the two leaders escalate.
Trump had previously demanded that Ukraine provide $500 billion (£397 billion) worth of its mineral resources as compensation for U.S. military aid sent since Russia’s invasion three years ago. While Zelensky initially showed openness to negotiations, he rejected a recent proposal, citing inadequate security guarantees to protect Ukraine from further Russian aggression.
On Wednesday, Trump accused Zelensky of reneging on the agreement, just hours after calling him a “dictator.” Speaking at a tech summit in Florida, Trump criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine, claiming that the rare earth minerals deal was meant to compensate America for its support, rather than serve as a future security agreement.
“We’re Just Giving Money Hand Over Fist?”
“We just give our money,” Trump said. “We had a deal based on rare earths, but they broke that deal… they broke it two days ago. We’ve spent $350 billion, and Europe gets its money back in the form of a loan, but we don’t? We’re just giving money hand over fist?”
Blaming the Biden administration, Trump argued that Ukraine was no longer dealing with the same U.S. government as before. He further claimed that Zelensky had admitted “half of the money we sent them is missing” and reiterated his view that the Ukrainian leader had done a “terrible job.”
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelensky defended his decision, stating that he could not sign the U.S. deal in its current form because “it is not ready to protect us, our interests.”
U.S. Officials Push for Economic Ties
U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday that the American people “deserve some kind of payback” for the billions invested in Ukraine’s war effort, adding that Zelensky would have been “wise to enter into this agreement.”
An unnamed U.S. official also criticized Ukraine’s refusal, calling it “short-sighted” and arguing that binding economic ties with the U.S. would strengthen Ukraine’s defense against future Russian aggression.
However, Ukrainian officials remain wary of surrendering valuable resources as peace talks begin, fearing that without strong security guarantees from Western allies, Russia could rebuild its military and launch another invasion.
