Ukraine’s allies in Washington say there’s a way for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to rescue his relationship with President Donald Trump, but it hinges on accepting a U.S.-proposed rare earths deal that Kyiv has so far snubbed.
Administration insiders say Trump’s blistering attacks against Kyiv — which left Europeans stunned (and Russia gleeful) — don’t constitute a pivot toward Russia but rather resentment over Ukraine’s response to Washington’s efforts to secure a deal that would open Ukraine’s vast deposits of rare earth minerals to U.S. investment.
“They had to learn the hard way that criticizing Trump publicly is just going to backfire in a big way,” said one Republican advising top administration officials on Ukraine policy. (This person, like the others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal administration matters.) “There’s a small but loud wing of the party who are very anti-Ukraine, but many inside who are still pro-Ukraine. Bashing Trump only adds fuel to the side against you.”
In Kyiv, however, Trump’s hardball tactics have fueled anger and shock — even though it was Ukraine that first proposed a rare earths deal to the new president’s team. Trump’s full proposed version of the deal has not yet been made public, but the Ukrainian side apparently bristled at the lack of adequate security guarantees.
