Trump wants Ukraine’s rare earth elements in exchange for continued US support

Zelenskyy told reporters that he hoped a deal could be reached at the Munich Security Conference later this week.

“We had a productive, constructive conversation. For me, the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine is very important, and we talked about minerals in general,” he said.

Ukraine is sitting on more than 20 rare earth elements, including cerium and lanthanum, both vital for a host of modern technologies from flat-screen televisions to low-energy light bulbs.

The country also possesses vast reserves of critical minerals and metals. Titanium, crucial for aerospace and defence industries, and lithium, the backbone of electric vehicle and smartphone batteries, are among Ukraine’s untapped riches.

Trump appears to be eyeing up both. “They’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things,” he said.

“I want to have the security of rare earths. We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earths. And I want security of the rare earths, and they’re willing to do it.”

Though firm details are unclear, that message will be well received by many Ukrainians watching anxiously at how Trump’s team has been engaging with Vladimir Putin, the Russian President.

Zelenskyy has emphasised throughout the war that Ukraine needs its Western allies to provide it with security guarantees that would prevent Russia using any break in the fighting to regroup and launch another invasion later on.

Zelenskyy told reporters that he could only discuss the subject of US security guarantees for Ukraine with Trump directly.

It comes as Trump held his first phone call with Vladimir Putin since returning to office and agreed to visit Russia.

The US President said he and the Russian President agreed to “stop the millions of deaths” and start negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump said the pair discussed “Ukraine, the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the power of the dollar, and various other subjects” and “agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations”.

He then spoke with Zelenskyy, who is expected to meet with US Vice-President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, for roughly an hour.