The United States and Ukraine said on Sunday they are closer to an agreement that would grant Washington significant rights to exploit rare minerals in exchange for billions of dollars in ammunition the U.S. has provided Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s large-scale invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a press conference in Kyiv that progress is being made on the deal. He noted that a draft agreement has been reached, under which Ukraine would pay the U.S. $2 for every dollar in military aid that the U.S. has given Kyiv to fight Russian forces, although the details have not yet been disclosed.
The war marks its third anniversary on Monday.
The United States has sent the largest amount of aid, providing Ukraine with $128 billion in military and humanitarian assistance, according to the German Kiel Institute for the World Economy. U.S. aid to Kyiv is slightly more than the $124 billion provided by the 27 European Union countries to Ukraine.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that he expects President Zelenskyy to sign the mineral agreement this week.
Initially, President Zelenskyy rejected the U.S. request for half of Ukraine’s rare mineral reserves, which are used in the production of electronic equipment.
Witkoff indicated in his CNN interview that the agreement will now be reached, although he did not explain the details.
Witkoff stated that European countries contributed to supporting Ukraine’s war efforts after reaching an agreement with Kyiv to eventually return their money, but the U.S. had not done so.
He added that such unconditional U.S. support for Ukraine “didn’t make sense” to President Donald Trump, who had long been engaged in real estate negotiations in New York before entering politics in 2015.
President Zelenskyy said, “I had an agreement with former President Biden and the U.S. Congress, I’m grateful to Congress, to both parties. The support was in the form of grants. A grant is not a loan. We don’t have to repay the credit in this case. Maybe someone doesn’t like it and thinks it’s unfair. But maybe this was part of an agreement. So it’s not about the amount, we just don’t see it as a loan. This was about grants, not numbers. We just don’t see it as a loan.”
President Trump, who last week called President Zelenskyy a “dictator” and accused him of starting the war despite Russia attacking Ukraine, has demanded payments and blamed his predecessor Biden for failing to secure a guarantee for compensation of the aid.
Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he wants President Trump to “understand” his position and to provide concrete security guarantees to help Kyiv defend itself from Russian attacks.
“I want very much understanding from Trump,” Zelenskyy said in his press conference, adding, “Security guarantees from President Trump are very much needed.”
Zelenskyy said he would be willing to step down if it meant peace for Ukraine, and added that he would exchange his resignation for Ukraine’s entry into NATO.
“If such a thing (meant) peace for Ukraine, if you truly believe it’s necessary for me to step down, I’m ready,” Zelenskyy said when asked during a press conference whether he would be willing to leave office if it meant achieving peace.
“I would immediately exchange this for (membership) in NATO, if that’s the condition,” the president added.
Last week, senior U.S. and Russian diplomats, Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov, met in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian or European officials to lay the groundwork for peace talks to end the war.
President Zelenskyy expressed dissatisfaction with Ukraine’s exclusion from the talks, but Trump said he could have negotiated with Russia earlier to prevent Moscow’s aggression.
“I had very good talks with Putin and I haven’t had talks that good with Ukraine,” Trump said before American governors at the White House.
“They (Ukraine) don’t have a card to play, but they’re playing hard,” he added.
Russian state television recently reported that Trump’s view of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is “completely in line with how we see things.”
Witkoff said that the war “would not have happened” if Ukraine had not pressured for NATO membership at that time. Kyiv is still adamant about joining the alliance of 32 countries, but Washington says it is unrealistic for this to happen as part of a negotiated peace agreement to end the war.
Witkoff said, “You will see concessions from both sides” in a peace agreement.
Russia currently controls about a fifth of internationally recognized Ukrainian territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that Moscow has no intention of returning any of the territories to the Kyiv government.
“Those people decided to join Russia a long time ago,” he said, referring to votes organized by Moscow in eastern Ukraine held amid the three-year offensive, which have been deemed invalid by Kyiv, the West, and international observers.
A phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin two weeks ago paved the way for the Rubio-Lavrov talks in Saudi Arabia.
“This is a dialogue between two extraordinary presidents,” Peskov said in a statement to state television.
Russia marked Defender of the Fatherland Day on Sunday – a holiday honoring soldiers and veterans. In a video published by the Kremlin, President Putin said that God and fate had entrusted him and his army with the “mission” of protecting Russia.
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy said Russia launched attacks with 267 drones overnight in Ukraine, which he condemned as “air terror.”
Ukrainian officials reported damage in five regions of the country.
President Zelenskyy said about 1,150 drones, more than 1,400 bombs, and 35 missiles of various types were launched by Russia toward Ukraine last week.
