Donald Trump wants rare earth from Ukraine in exchange for US help

President Donald Trump has attracted sharp criticism from the federal government with statements about the exploitation of mineral resources in Ukraine in return for US military aid. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) condemned Trump’s request to establish further defense aids for the country attacked by Russia to access valuable raw materials. It “would be very selfish, very self-related” to use Ukraine’s resources to finance foreign defense aid, said Scholz after an informal EU summit in Brussels.

“It is about the fact that Ukraine can finance its reconstruction,” said Scholz. These are big tasks when you look at the huge destruction in the country. Therefore, one should use the country’s resources to finance everything that is necessary after the war.

In return for the extensive US aid to Ukraine, Trump had previously called for the right to access valuable raw materials in the country. “I want to have security with the rare earths,” said the Republican in Washington. “We invest hundreds of billions dollars. They have great rare earths.” He stated that Ukraine was “ready to do this.” Rare earths are required, for example, for the production of semiconductors and the production of smartphones and electric cars. In the digitization era you are a strategically important pound.

The United States is the most important supporter and arms supplier of Ukraine in its defensive fight against aggressor Russia. However, Trump has indicated several times that he could drastically return the support of the United States. The Republican was optimistic of being able to achieve a peace solution in the war that has been going on for almost three years. “We have made a lot of progress in Russia and Ukraine,” he said – without giving any details. In Kiev it is feared that Russia could end up being the winner.

Trump once again criticized his democratic predecessor Joe Biden and accused him that he had been financially ripped off by the Ukrainians. “Biden never asked for money. He never said: You have to pay. He just distributed money,” said Trump. On the other hand, he himself is working with the Ukrainian government to complete “some deals” in order to have the US support revenue.

In fact, President Wolodymyr Selenskyj had already offered to pay with raw materials for western aids before the US election in autumn. According to the independent Russian internet portal “CurrentTime”, some of the areas with occurrence of rare earths in Ukraine are now occupied by Russian troops. The Krutaja Balka deposit near the port city of Berdjansk was named. Another deposit has been lost due to the recent advance of the Russian units at Kurachowe.

Nevertheless, the country still has about 20 explored fields with strategically important raw materials such as lithium, graphite, titanium and uranium. In view of the emergency in which the Ukraine is located, the state leadership could be forced under the pressure of Trump to cede the valuable resources far below value.

Western weapons are vital for Ukraine to stabilize the front. Selenskyj has also announced extensive changes in the command structure of the armed forces. The transition to the army corps has already been approved, he said in his evening video speech: “Today we discussed the approaches for the appointment of corps commanders: the best -trained, most promising officers with combat experience and modern thinking should be.”

So far, the brigade is the largest unity of the Ukrainian armed forces. Around 5,000 soldiers serve there. This line -up still comes from the pre -war period when the Ukraine military concept provided for a largely based on professional soldiers for limited missions. In the opinion of military experts, the structures for large -scale actions are missing in defense against the comprehensive Russian attack war. Again and again there is confusion and delays – and with it losses and defeats.

For Selenskyj, the upcoming modernization of the army is one of the most important tasks. In addition, in his video message, he once again called the strengthening of the air defense as a goal – especially to protect the energy systems, which systematically destroys Russia. The future of the country depends on whether Ukraine succeed in developing enough of its own systems, getting them from partners or recreating them in license.

Note: This post has been updated.