With his proposal to receive valuable raw materials from Ukraine in exchange for American military aid, President Donald Trump is actually adopting one of the ideas in the so-called “victory plan” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, writes ARD. In it, he proposed - even before the US presidential elections - the conclusion of an agreement for joint extraction and exploitation of raw materials. Ukraine has something to offer - rare metals, titanium and lithium, and its deposits are probably the largest in Europe, the German public-law media outlet points out.
Battle for valuable raw materials
Titanium is used in aviation and the aerospace industry. Lithium, on the other hand, is needed for the production of batteries, semiconductors and accumulators for electric vehicles. Many of the deposits of these raw materials, however, are located in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions occupied by Russia or in areas where fighting is taking place, ARD notes.
There has long been talk of a battle for valuable raw materials, Ukrainian political scientist Igor Chalenko from the Center for Analysis and Strategies told the German public-law media. “When we talk about rare metals, we must bear in mind that a large part of them is located in areas of fighting, that is, there is a battle for resources. Russia is also striving to obtain additional raw materials."
The United States does not want to depend on China
Ukraine still has over 20 already explored fields with the valuable raw materials lithium, graphite, titanium and uranium in the rest of the country, ARD also informs. Ukrainian media indicate that Trump's interests can be explained primarily by his desire to reduce dependence on China, which is the world leader not only in mining but also in processing strategic resources. In addition, the whole thing also has a military aspect, since rare metals also play a large role in the production of weapons.
Ukrainian political scientist Mykola Davidyuk is quoted by the German publication as saying that now there is an opportunity to achieve several goals simultaneously: “On the one hand, we will liberate Ukraine from the occupiers, and on the other, we will have technology companies at our disposal with which we can cooperate.” If Elon Musk takes up lithium mining, “Tesla” cars or at least the batteries for them will be produced in Ukraine, Davidyuk believes.
Fears of economic exploitation
Trump stressed that he wants to have security regarding rare metals and mentioned prospects for investments amounting to billions. Political scientist Chalenko, quoted by ARD, is of the opinion that through arms supplies and security agreements, the US can take care of additional security for Ukraine if more large American companies come to the country.
“The presence of American companies will represent a kind of protection that will influence the decision of the American government on the security of certain Ukrainian regions,” Chalenko points out.
Against all the enthusiasm, however, there are also concerns that a possible deal with Trump may not be in Ukraine's favor. In the context of the state of emergency in which the country finds itself, valuable raw materials could be sold off well below their real value.
Author: Stefan Laak (ARD)