WaPo: Ukraine And US Agree On Rare Minerals Deal

The Washington Post reports:

Ukraine and the United States have agreed to a framework for an expansive minerals deal, according to a Ukrainian official and another person familiar with the matter. The White House has not confirmed the agreement and did not respond immediately to request for comment. The Trump administration has pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to repay U.S. war aid with such an agreement, amid broader pressure to come to a peace deal with Russia.

The framework for the deal would grant Washington access to Ukrainian mineral wealth on “much better terms” than those offered in an earlier proposal that Zelensky was not swift to accept, the Ukrainian official said. It does not include any mention of $500 billion — a figure that Trump told Fox News he wanted, in equivalent rare earth minerals, to repay U.S. war aid to Ukraine. Zelensky firmly rejected claims that Washington has sent $500 billion to Ukraine, saying the figure stands at roughly $100 billion in aid.

Read the full article. Extortion is one of Trump’s hallmarks.