#BreakingNews

#Ukraine & the #UnitedStates have agreed to a framework for an expansive #minerals deal, acc/to a Ukrainian ofcl & another person familiar w/the matter. The White House has not confirmed the agreement has not commented.

The #Trump admin has pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr #Zelensky to repay US #war #aid with such an agreement, amid broader pressure to come to a *peace* deal w/ #Russia.

#extortion #WarProfiteering #authoritarianism #geopolitics #USpol #StandWithUkraine

…The original rare earth #minerals“deal” focused on compensating the #US for PAST #aid to Kyiv, & specified the natural resources that would form part of the deal on over a dozen pages…. #Zelensky said Wed the contract asked for the US to own, or receive revenue from, 50% of #Ukraine rare earth mineral mining & other natural resource sectors. The sources said the document said it asked for compensation not for future US assistance to Ukraine, but for previous aid.

#geopolitics #StandWithUkraine

…The clash over the rare earth #minerals agreement comes amid a serious deterioration of #US relations w/ #Zelensky, driven by #Trump’s adoption of #RussianPropaganda on the war, including the false charges that the Ukrainian leader started the conflict & that he is a dictator. The autocrat in this situation is #Putin, who has run #Russia for 25 years, imprisoned his opponents, crushed the #FreePress & held sham elections. And he started the #war.

#Ukraine #geopolitics #StandWithUkraine

The #Ukraine minerals deal is a perfect metaphor for #Trump’s #ForeignPolicy

Trump isn’t the only president who knows a bad deal when he sees one.

Volodymyr #Zelensky’s refusal to sign away nearly half of his country’s rare earth #minerals for very few future guarantees is one of many reasons why Trump has been driven into a rage at his counterpart in Kyiv.

#Russia #Putin #authoritarianism #democracy #allies #extortion #geopolitics #StandWithUkraine
cnn.com/2025/02/21/politics/tr…

Per Richard Engel on likelihood of #Ukraine signing the rare earth minerals deal with the #UnitedStates: Ukraine was essentially asked to sign the deal under #duress, they were told they had to sign within 1 hour or #Trump would be very angry. The deal was apparently very thin on details such as what Ukraine would be getting in return for giving up ~$500B in their #minerals.

#Russia #Putin #authoritarianism #democracy #allies #extortion #geopolitics #StandWithUkraine

#NEWS OF THE DAY:

#ZELENSKYY OFFERS #MINERALS TO #TRUMP: Ukraine's president said he is ready to cooperate with the #US on minerals in exchange for security guarantees. This was in response to Trump's previous demands to supply the U.S. with rare earth elements in exchange for aid.

reuters.com/world/zelenskiy-sa…