President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, rejected an offer by the Trump administration to relinquish half of the country’s mineral resources in exchange for U.S. support, according to five people briefed on the proposal or with direct knowledge of the talks.

The unusual deal would have granted the United States a 50 percent interest in all of Ukraine’s mineral resources, including graphite, lithium and uranium, according to two European officials. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, who presented the deal to Ukraine, said Sunday that the United States wanted the minerals “as payback for the aid we’ve given them” — leaving unclear whether the deal would cover future military and financial assistance.

A Ukrainian official and an energy expert briefed on the proposal said that the Trump administration sought not only Ukraine’s minerals but additional natural resources, including oil and gas. The proposal, they said, would entitle the United States to half of Ukraine’s resource earnings — funds that are today mostly invested in the country’s military and defense production.

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  • meowmeowbeanz@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    Munich hosts the annual Security Conference, where power brokers gather to carve up geopolitical pies. Ukraine’s minerals are on the menu, served cold with a side of imperial ambition. The suits in Munich aren’t just sipping overpriced cocktails—they’re brokering deals that turn blood-soaked trenches into corporate spreadsheets.

    The connection? It’s where the U.S. pushed its extortionate mineral “deal” while Ukraine countered with demands for actual security guarantees. Munich isn’t just a city; it’s a stage for this theater of exploitation. If you’re missing the dots, it’s because the script is written in fine print only lobbyists can read.

    So, Munich matters because it’s where sovereignty gets auctioned off under the guise of diplomacy.