Ukraine’s Allies In Dc Tell Zelenskyy: Take The Rare Earths Deal

Ukraine’s allies in Washington say there’s a way for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to rescue his relationship with President Donald Trump, but it hinges on accepting a U.S.-proposed rare earths deal that Kyiv has so far snubbed.

Administration insiders say Trump’s blistering attacks against Kyiv — which left Europeans stunned (and Russia gleeful) — don’t constitute a pivot toward Russia but rather resentment over Ukraine’s response to Washington’s efforts to secure a deal that would open Ukraine’s vast deposits of rare earth minerals to U.S. investment.

“They had to learn the hard way that criticizing Trump publicly is just going to backfire in a big way,” said one Republican advising top administration officials on Ukraine policy. (This person, like the others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal administration matters.) “There’s a small but loud wing of the party who are very anti-Ukraine, but many inside who are still pro-Ukraine. Bashing Trump only adds fuel to the side against you.”

In Kyiv, however, Trump’s hardball tactics have fueled anger and shock — even though it was Ukraine which first proposed a rare earths deal to the new president’s team. Trump’s full proposed version of the deal has not yet been made public, but the Ukrainian side apparently bristled at the lack of adequate security guarantees.

Trump’s envoy for Ukraine peace talks, Keith Kellogg, is in Kyiv for meetings this week and met with Zelenskyy on Thursday.

A spokesperson for Kellogg didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the two discussed reviving the deal.

But after the meeting, Zelenskyy appeared to make an overture, saying: “Ukraine is ready for a strong, effective investment and security agreement with the president of the United States. We have proposed the fastest and most constructive way to achieve results. Our team is ready to work 24/7.” He didn’t explicitly mention rare earths in his statement.

Kellogg spoke to Trump before his visit to Kyiv, according to a U.S. official involved in the discussions. The official declined to provide details of that conversation.

Several U.S. administration officials and other Republicans in direct contact with the Trump team downplayed the latest war of words as another example of the brash negotiating tactics one should expect from Trump the consummate deal maker — despite the fact that it appears to be damaging U.S. credibility among NATO allies in Europe.

These administration insiders say Ukraine needs to work quickly with the American side to clinch the rare earths deal floated by Trump. The deal would entail Ukraine giving American companies 50 percent ownership over Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth minerals that are strategically important and potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Yehor Cherniev, a Ukrainian lawmaker from Zelenskyy’s People’s party who leads Ukraine’s delegation to the NATO parliamentary assembly, said Kyiv is still open to an agreement “but the agreement must be fair and bring benefits to Ukraine — security guarantees and significant military assistance.”

“We have been a loyal friend and ally of the U.S. for many years, and the attitude toward us as a colony or an enemy on whom reparations are imposed is offensive and incomprehensible to us,” said Cherniev.

Ukrainians and other NATO allies have long insisted that security guarantees were not a form of charity, but rather security for the Western alliance to prevent Russia from launching attacks on NATO in the future after Ukraine.

Security is also necessary for investment, said Alina Polyakova, head of the Center for European Policy Analysis think tank, which engages frequently with senior Ukrainian officials

“They need a secure place to do business for this deal to happen,” she said. “You can't companies are going to invest and set up very expensive mining operations and exploration operations if they think they're going to get hit by a Russian missile.”

Still, there’s recognition in Ukraine that the rare earths deal may be the only avenue Ukraine has to secure continued U.S. support from Trump, Polyakova said. “Ukrainians are trying to appeal to a very transactional president.”

Pro-Ukraine Republicans have cheered the plan as a way to bring the MAGA movement on board with investing in Ukraine’s long-term security in exchange for economic benefits to Americans. Critics of the deal, including three European officials who were granted anonymity to give their candid personal views on the concept, say it basically amounts to blackmail by a purported ally when Ukraine’s back is against the wall.

Trump wants the deal as compensation for the billions of dollars worth of aid the United States has already provided, while Ukrainians want hard guarantees to prevent Russia from regrouping and relaunching another attack in the future. If those guarantees don’t include NATO membership, Ukrainians believe it should include more military aid.

Trump so far hasn't made as clear a demand to the Russian side as the Ukrainian side — a point that has fueled anger among Ukrainian and European officials.

Zelenskyy said he rejected the deal when the Trump team first proposed it to him because it “is not ready to protect us, our interest.”

National security adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News on Thursday that a co-investment deal like this would be “the best security guarantee they could ever hope for, much more than another pallet of ammunition.”

He said Zelenskyy’s decision to spurn the deal and criticize Trump with “badmouthing in the press” triggered the bad blood between the two sides. “They need to tone it down and sign that deal.”

Veronika Melkozerova and Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.

A version of this story previously appeared in POLITICO's National Security Daily newsletter. Like this content? Consider signing up!