REPORT: Trump mineral deal with Ukraine finalized

After Trump took office, he was very clear that he wanted Ukraine to pay back every cent of the military aid the country was given.

Ukrainian President Zelensky then puffed out his chest and said he did not believe Ukraine owed the United States a penny.

Trump then made it clear, you either sign this deal, or everything dries up and you can fight Russia on your own. To that point, reports are now surfacing that Zelensky has caved and is coming to the United States to sign the deal that Trump put on the table.

The Deal is Done

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent broke the news late Thursday that all parties had agreed on a mineral rights deal between the United States and Ukraine.

Bessent stated, “I went to Kiev two weeks ago and met with President Zelensky. Since then, we have struck a deal. Their governing council approved the deal last night, so I have an agreement from their economics minister, so the deal is done.”

He then informed everyone that Zelensky was on his way to DC to personally sign the deal.

Bessent stated, “President Zelensky is coming here to sign the deal tomorrow. There is no more negotiation.

“There is nothing else. I’m sure President Zelensky and President Trump will have wide-ranging discussion, but as far as the deal, it is complete, it is on paper, and the Ukrainian government has approved it. It is just awaiting the signature of the two heads of state tomorrow. It is a deal on strategic minerals, oil and gas, and infrastructure assets.”

From the reports I saw, Trump initially wanted a $500 billion deal, but I stated at the time that it was Trump posturing to show his position of strength.

That would have been far more than Ukraine owed, and now reports have surfaced that the deal is likely to be more in the $350 billion range, which is nearly double the amount of aid Congress has appropriated Ukraine.

I don’t have a problem with that, however, when you consider the interest that would have accumulated in a “normal” loan.

Not only that, the United States needs these minerals to shed its dependence on countries like Russia and China if we are going to become independent in terms of chips and EV battery production.

And after all the aid we provided to Ukraine, I have zero issue with Trump bullying Zelensky a little bit to make up for how he conned Joe Biden over the last four years.