US president and Kyiv suggest a deal on rare earths could compensate Washington for aid.
United States President Donald Trump has suggested Ukraine “may be Russian someday” as he seeks to fulfil a boast that he will bring the war to a swift end.
Trump made the comment in an interview on Monday, as he discussed the three-year old conflict that has followed Russia’s full-scale invasion. Kyiv, meanwhile, has suggested it is open to an agreement that would see Washington compensated for continued military and financial aid.
“They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday,” Trump said in an interview with US broadcaster Fox News.
The US leader also reiterated that he wants compensation for the aid the US has provided to Ukraine in the form of access to rare earth minerals.
“We are going to have all this money in there, and I say I want it back. And I told them that I want the equivalent, like $500bn worth of rare earth,” Trump said. “And they have essentially agreed to do that, so at least we don’t feel stupid.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, told The Associated Press news agency that Ukraine is “interested to work” with the US on the deal.
Zelenskyy, set to meet US Vice President JD Vance on Friday, is calling for tough security guarantees from Washington as part of any ceasefire deal with Russia, which Trump has repeatedly claimed he will push through swiftly.
Kyiv fears that any settlement that does not include hard military commitments, such as NATO membership or the deployment of peacekeeping troops, will only allow the Kremlin time to regroup and rearm for a new attack.
Trump suggested over the weekend that he had spoken with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. However, Moscow has not confirmed that there has been contact and instead reiterated that a truce is only possible on its terms.
Against this backdrop, the violence in Ukraine continues, with Russian troops pushing forward on the front line in eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv and Moscow are also maintaining an almost nightly air barrage, targeting energy infrastructure, in particular.
Overnight on Tuesday, a Russian drone and missile attack hit natural gas production facilities in Ukraine’s central Poltava region.
Meanwhile, Russia reported a fire at an industrial facility in its Saratov region following a hit. Ukraine claimed that it had struck an oil refinery.