KYIV — Despite U.S. insistence, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to sign a draft agreement to hand over half of his country’s rare earth minerals to American companies in exchange for military support, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.
“The deal was not signed yet. Sides are discussing the details,” said a Ukrainian official familiar with the negotiations who was granted anonymity to discuss ongoing talks. “Lawyers are working on it. In their draft, the U.S. has described a very complicated way how they want to get 50 percent [of Ukraine’s rare earths].”
The official added that the U.S. scheme “might not work” as it could fall afoul of Ukrainian law.
Kyiv has been actively trying to entice the transactional U.S. president to see Ukraine’s mineral wealth as a solid reason to continue backing it against the Russian invasion.
