Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks throughout an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s assault on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine Feb. 7, 2025.
Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pored over a once-classified map of huge deposits of uncommon earths and different crucial minerals throughout an interview with Reuters on Friday, a part of a push to attraction to Donald Trump’s penchant for a deal.
The U.S. president, whose administration is urgent for a fast finish to Ukraine’s battle with Russia, stated on Monday he needed Ukraine to produce the U.S. with uncommon earths and different minerals in return for financially supporting its battle effort.
“If we’re speaking a few deal, then let’s do a deal, we’re just for it,” Zelenskyy stated, emphasising Ukraine’s want for safety ensures from its allies as a part of any settlement.
Ukraine floated the thought of opening its crucial minerals to funding by allies final autumn, because it introduced a “victory plan” that sought to place it within the strongest place for talks and power Moscow to the desk.
Zelenskyy stated lower than 20% of Ukraine’s mineral sources, together with about half its uncommon earth deposits, had been below Russian occupation.
Uncommon earths are necessary within the manufacture of high-performance magnets, electrical motors and client electronics; Zelenskyy stated Moscow might open these sources to its allies North Korea and Iran, each sworn U.S. enemies.
“We have to cease Putin and shield what we’ve – a really wealthy Dnipro area, central Ukraine,” he stated.
Russian troops have been gaining floor within the east for months, throwing enormous sources into an unrelenting offensive whereas Kyiv’s a lot smaller military grapples with a scarcity of troopers and frets over future weapons provides from overseas.
Zelenskyy unfurled a map on a desk within the heavily-defended president’s workplace in Kyiv, exhibiting quite a few mineral deposits, together with a broad strip of land within the east marked as containing uncommon earths. Round half of it on Russia’s facet of the present frontlines.
He stated Ukraine had Europe’s largest reserves of titanium, important for the aviation and house trade, and uranium, used for nuclear vitality and weapons.
Lots of the titanium deposits had been marked in northwestern Ukraine, removed from the preventing.
Ukraine has quickly retuned its overseas coverage method to align with the transactional world view set out by the brand new occupant of the White Home, Ukraine’s most necessary ally.
However Zelenskyy emphasised that Kyiv was not proposing “making a gift of” its sources, however providing a mutually useful partnership to develop them collectively:
“The Individuals helped essentially the most, and subsequently the Individuals ought to earn essentially the most. And they need to have this precedence, and they’re going to. I might additionally like to speak about this with President Trump.”
He stated Russia knew intimately the place Ukraine’s crucial sources had been from Soviet-era geological surveys that had been taken again to Moscow when Kyiv gained independence in 1991.
As well as, Zelenskyy stated Kyiv and the White Home had been discussing the thought of utilizing Ukraine’s huge underground fuel storage websites to retailer U.S. liquefied pure fuel.
“I do know that the Trump administration may be very fascinated with it … We’re prepared and prepared to have contracts for LNG provides to Ukraine. And naturally, we will likely be a hub for the entire of Europe,” he stated.
Zelenskyy needs assembly
The interview comes days earlier than the February 14-16 Munich Safety Convention, the place officers from dozens of Western nations will converge at an unpredictable juncture within the almost three-year-old battle.
Zelenskyy stated he deliberate to attend the discussion board, the place Keith Kellogg, Trump’s particular envoy for Russia and Ukraine, can also be anticipated.
The Ukrainian chief stated it was important that he met Trump in particular person earlier than the U.S. president meets Russian President Vladimir Putin, “in any other case it can appear like a dialogue about Ukraine with out Ukraine”.
Trump stated on Friday that he anticipated to speak to Zelenskyy subsequent week. Zelenskyy stated his personal precedence can be elevating Ukraine’s want for safety ensures as a part of any deal, to stop Russia launching one other Typically although, it was important the West decided a broad technique earlier than coming into into talks with Moscow.
He stated there have been already common contacts between his workforce and Kellogg and Trump nationwide safety adviser Michael Waltz.
“Day-after-day we’ve contacts, we discuss common issues, however the specifics will come somewhat later,” he stated.
Trump’s peace push comes as advancing Russian forces threaten the foremost Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy confirmed for the primary time that his troops had launched a brand new offensive on Thursday, advancing 2.5 km (1.5 miles) additional into Russia’s Kursk area.
Russia had reported a Ukrainian assault within the space that day, however stated it was repelled.
Zelenskyy stated 1000’s of North Korean troops preventing on Russia’s facet had now returned to lively fight towards Kyiv’s forces in Kursk after a pause of a number of weeks.
Subsequent week, the federal government intends to launch profitable recruitment contracts to entice younger males aged 18-24 – under draft age – into the armed forces to assist ease a manpower scarcity. Zelenskyy declined to say what number of males had been anticipated to enroll.