Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Trump seeks rare earth metals from Zelensky as payback for ‘close to $300bn’ in US aid
Independent Premium
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Russia has voiced its opposition to Donald Trump’s demands that Ukraine pay for US support with rare minerals.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the remarks by Mr Trump suggested that Ukraine would no longer be given free aid – but he added that “it would be better of course for the assistance to not be provided at all”.
A day earlier, Mr Trump had said he was “looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things”.
Ukraine has one of the largest untapped resources of rare earth minerals, worth around £12 trillion.
It comes as A Russian missile strike damaged an apartment bloc and administrative buildings, killing five people and injuring at least 55 in the town of Izium in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the regional governor said on Tuesday.
Russian forces hit the town’s central district using a ballistic missile, governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram citing preliminary information. Rescuers were working at the site and at least one person was trapped under the rubble, he added.
Posting footage of the aftermath of the strike, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky wrote: “This brutality cannot be tolerated. Maximum pressure must be applied to Russia – through military force, sanctions, and diplomacy – to stop the terror and protect lives.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his team has already been in contact with Washington’s top Ukraine official Keith Kellogg and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and there were “working dates” for an American delegation to visit.
Commenting on US president Donald Trump’s interest in Ukrainian rare earth minerals, Mr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that Ukraine was open to investment by American companies.
Belgium will continue to support Ukraine, new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Tuesday as he delivered his policy statement to parliament.
His coalition government was sworn in on Monday, after almost eight months of negotiations.
A Russian strike killed five civilians and wounded 55 on Tuesday in the town of Izium in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, partially destroying the city council building, officials said in an update.
Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday its air force had struck a Russian military command post in Russia’s Kursk region the previous day.
“The facility sustained significant damage, leading to substantial casualties among enemy personnel,” the general staff said on Telegram.
The Independent could not independently verify the statement.
Ukraine’s military has reported numerous strikes on Russian military and energy facilities in recent weeks. Ukrainian forces have been battling Russian troops in the Kursk region since Ukraine mounted a cross border operation there last year.
Two Russian TU-95MS strategic bombers conducted a routine flight over the Sea of Barents and Norwegian Sea, state-run RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.
Strategic bomber planes, which form part of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, have also made flights in recent months over the Black and Baltic Seas as well as the Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan.
Russia uses such flights to maintain force readiness and project strength at a time of heightened East-West confrontation because of the war in Ukraine.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday and inspected an electricity distribution substation, warning that attacks on Ukraine’s power grid could pose a risk of nuclear accident by disrupting supply.
“I’m at Kyivska electrical substation,” an important part of Ukraine’s power grid essential for nuclear safety,” Grossi wrote on X. “A nuclear accident can result from a direct attack on a plant, but also from power supply disruption.”
Grossi posted pictures of him visiting the substation alongside Energy Minister German Galushchenko, and being showed what appeared to be defences against Russian strikes.
Moscow has regularly bombarded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including substations, throughout its three-year invasion, although it has avoided direct strikes on Ukraine’s nuclear plants.
Grossi said he would visit Russia later this week to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia captured the plant, Europe’s biggest nuclear power station, soon after its forces went into Ukraine in February 2022.
“It’s essential that I, in the discharge of my obligations keep channels of communication constantly,” Grossi told a news briefing.
Downing Street has urged Brits not to follow former Tory MP Jack Lopresti to war in Ukraine after he joined the country’s International Legion to help in the fight against Russia.
The ex-deputy chairman of the Conservative Party is now based in Kyiv using his skills in the ongoing war in a non-combat role.
But, asked whether the prime minister supports Mr Lopresti’s involvement in the war, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said the government advises against travel to Ukraine.
The spokesman said: “Our long-standing position is that we advise against all travel to Ukraine except some western regions of the country.
“The government is supporting Ukraine wherever we can, we want to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position.”
But, asked directly whether the PM would advise against more Brits signing up to fight for Ukraine, the spokesman repeated: “We advise against all travel to Ukraine except some western regions of the country.”
Donald Trump has issued a demand to Ukraine in which Kyiv guarantees supplies of rare earth minerals to the US as payment for war aid. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has previously floated the idea as part of his plan to end with conflict with Russia. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday (3 February), Trump said: “We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths. “We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things.”
Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal has said that “only force and pressure” can stop Russia’s war of aggression.
The politician issued the statement alongside a video of Russia’s latest missile strike on the northeast Ukrainian city of Izyum, which has killed five people and injured 30 more.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in