WASHINGTON, Aug 1 : US President Donald Trump has said that America can take "pretty much whatever" it wants from Ukraine's rare earth deposits under a minerals agreement signed last year, arguing that the arrangement could ultimately generate returns exceeding the value of American aid provided to Kyiv since 2022.
Speaking in an interview with Real America's Voice aired on Friday, he chastised his predecessor Joe Biden for providing what he claimed was over USD $300 billion in military assistance to Kyiv without securing the means for repayment.
"He could have Europe... paid for it. All you had to do is ask," Trump said, noting that European countries are now bearing a larger share of the financial burden under his administration.
Trump pointed to the US-Ukraine minerals agreement, saying Ukraine possesses "very rich, very fertile soil in terms of rare earth".
"We have a contract signed [with Ukraine] having to do with rare earth. We can go in there at any time we want and take pretty much whatever we want. That was a pretty good deal," he said.
The agreement, signed in Washington in April 2025, established the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, granting Washington preferential access to new Ukrainian mineral, oil and gas projects.
The deal covers resources including lithium, titanium, graphite and uranium, while Ukraine retains ownership of its natural resources and receives 50 per cent of profits from new extraction projects.
Trump has repeatedly described the agreement as a mechanism for recovering the cost of US military assistance to Kyiv.
However, his claim that the US has provided more than US$300 billion in aid has been disputed by officials, with the US Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve estimating the total figure to be closer to US$195 billion in total appropriations.
Although the minerals agreement is legally in force and more than a dozen projects are reportedly under review, implementation continues to face significant challenges, including security risks stemming from the ongoing war, corruption concerns, limited geological data, electricity shortages and inadequate infrastructure.
The deal followed months of difficult negotiations, including a televised Oval Office confrontation in February 2025 between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump accused Zelensky of being ungrateful and "gambling with World War III".
Following the agreement's signing, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev remarked Trump had broken the Ukrainian regime "to the point where they will have to pay for US aid with mineral resources," adding that "now they will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country."
(UNI)
