Trump eyes Ukrainian rare earth minerals in exchange for military support to Kiev  

By Harun Elbinawi

Ukrainians are marking the third anniversary of their bloody and protracted war with Russia this week, which is in reality a NATO-engineered proxy war with Moscow.

During this period, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured, and more than 20 percent of Ukrainian territory has been taken over by the other party.

The West has backed Ukraine with weapons and financial aid, having spent more than $500 billion on the protracted war with little result, as Russia continues to gain the upper hand.

United States has been Ukraine’s biggest supporter, having contributed over $300 billion, under the Joe Biden administration that prioritized war in Ukraine over domestic issues.

However, the Donald Trump administration is unwilling to continue this costly military adventure. Trump has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being a "dictator" and criticizes the vast sums Washington has spent on Ukraine over the past three years.

Recently, Trump, a businessman at heart, introduced a new proposal for continued support to Ukraine – he wants Ukrainian minerals in exchange.

Washington is now pressuring the Kiev regime to sign away billions of dollars in mineral wealth in exchange for ongoing military assistance, according to reports.

Ukraine possesses around 5 percent of the world’s rare earth mineral deposits, and Trump is demanding that Kiev sign over the rights to approximately $500 billion worth of these resources.

Zelenskyy has rejected the initial draft of the deal, insisting that he cannot “sell the state.”

However, Trump’s intentions are clear. He wants to loot Ukraine’s minerals, and he is not even hiding it. Imperialists have no shame and they have never made a secret of that.

The US regime dragged Ukraine into war with a powerful adversary, Russia, and the consequences have been devastating. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the futile war and the country’s infrastructure has been destroyed.

The US is not aiding Ukraine out of a commitment to freedom, democracy, or human rights. The genocidal imperialists of the West have abandoned those hollow excuses.

The truth is that the West is at war with Russia, using Ukraine as a proxy. Ukrainians have become the scapegoats in a war orchestrated by the West, with no regard for their well-being.

It is a one-sided war—one that Ukraine cannot win. Historically, this is not the first time the United States has plundered another nation’s resources. The US and Belgium were complicit in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba to exploit Congo’s mineral wealth.

The US was looting Iranian oil until the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended that exploitation. In fact, the US regime has a long history of plundering weaker nations, particularly in Africa.

Even today, the US continues to plunder Saudi Arabia under the pretext of a protection racket—something Trump himself has publicly admitted.

Looting Ukraine’s minerals is not an anomaly but a continuation of the American imperialist and hegemonic practices. While Zelenskyy has publicly rejected Trump’s demands, this may be mere posturing.

Ukraine is not strong enough to resist US pressure. It is entirely dependent on Western support. Trump and the US are driven by greed, and they will likely get their way in Ukraine.

Only strong nations can withstand the pressure of Western imperialists and colonialists.

No nation should remain under the grip of the evil Western hegemonic powers. These imperialists are ruthless and utterly devoid of conscience.

Every nation should strive to free itself from domination. The mineral wealth of Ukraine belongs to the Ukrainian people, and it is a grave injustice for greedy imperialists to steal it.

At the moment, Kiev and Washington are reportedly in talks to sign a deal over US access to Ukraine’s rich mineral deposits, as revealed by a Ukrainian government official this week.

Olga Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, in a statement on X, announced that negotiations have been “very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized".

“We are committed to completing this swiftly to proceed with its signature,” the minister added, in a signal that the Kiev regime has succumbed to the US pressure.

It’s high time Ukrainians realize this fact and stand up to demand an end to both NATO’s proxy war against Russia as well as the exploitation of their mineral resources.

Harun Elbinawi is a Nigerian political and public affairs analyst.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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