Zelensky rejects Trump-led deal with US on minerals

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he blocked a Donald Trump-led deal that would give the US access to vast amounts of Ukrainian natural resources as it lacked “security guarantees” for Kyiv and “does not protect us”.

Trump, a businessman leader highly critical of the money Washington has sent to Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion, has pushed for access to rare earths in Ukraine.

Zelensky’s announcement came a day after Ukrainian officials gave the US a draft of the agreement and three days after Trump called Russia’s Vladimir Putin, with Europe and Kyiv alarmed the pair will try to end the conflict without them.

“The agreement is signed at the ministerial level. But I am the president and I will have an impact on the quality of this document. That is why I did not allow ministers to sign the agreement because it is not ready,” Zelensky told journalist at the Munich Security Conference.

“In my opinion, it does not protect us. It is not ready to protect us, our interests,” he added.

“It must be written out legally correctly, correctly, and it is an investment… If all this is connected with security guarantees. I don’t see this connection in the document yet,” he said.

Zelensky added that the deal will not benefit Ukraine for the years to come.

“These resources, this is not mine, but our people’s,” he said.

“I am a guarantor that these resources will be there for our children, with all partners,” he said.

Trump sent US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Kyiv earlier this week.

The US leader has insisted on getting a return on US aid sent to Kyiv to fend off Russian forces.