{"id":125220,"date":"2025-02-04T08:39:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T08:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-trump-demands-rare-earth-metals-from-kyiv-in-exchange-for-aid-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T08:39:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T08:39:40","slug":"ukraine-war-latest-trump-demands-rare-earth-metals-from-kyiv-in-exchange-for-aid-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-trump-demands-rare-earth-metals-from-kyiv-in-exchange-for-aid-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war latest: Trump demands rare earth metals from Kyiv in exchange for aid – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Trump seeks rare earth metals from Zelensky as payback for ‘close to $300bn’ in US aid
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An 18-year-old British volunteer has been killed<\/a> minutes into his first mission in Ukraine<\/a>, his father said.
\u201cMy son James had only just turned 18 when he decided he wanted to go volunteer and fight in Ukraine,\u201d his father Graham Wilton said.
\u201cI\u2019ll never get over this. I didn\u2019t want him to go but his heart was set on it. He wanted to help Ukraine.\u201d
The confirmation of Wilton’s death comes as Donald Trump<\/a> told reporters at the White House that he wanted Ukraine to supply rare earth metals in exchange for American military and financial aid.
“We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths,” Mr Trump said. “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.”
Earlier, a senior eastern Ukrainian separatist who had organised combat units to fight against his own country was reportedly killed following an explosion in northwest Moscow<\/a>.
At least five people were wounded or killed after what has been reported as a bomb detonated at the Alye Parusa residential complex in the capital.
An 18-year-old British volunteer who enlisted to help defend Ukraine<\/a> was killed by a Russian drone just minutes into his first mission, according to a report.
James Wilton, from Huddersfield<\/a>, travelled to Ukraine<\/a> aged 17 and with no prior military experience, where he was reportedly given a crash training course by Ukrainian instructors<\/a>.
But his first mission on Ukraine\u2019s eastern front<\/a> on 23 July 2024 was also to be his last, after James and his comrade found themselves being hunted by multiple Russian drones in an open field with no cover to run for.
\u201cI\u2019ll never get over this. I didn\u2019t want him to go but his heart was set on it. He wanted to help Ukraine,\u201d his father Graham told The Sun<\/em><\/a>.
Andy Gregory reports:<\/em><\/strong>
James Wilton, aged 18, was cremated in Ukraine after his death last July
North Korean troops have been pulled back from the frontline amid devastating losses<\/a>, according to Ukrainian and American officials.
Kim Jong Un<\/a>\u2019s forces have not been seen on the battlefield for around three weeks<\/a>, Ukrainian special forces said, according to the New York Times<\/em>.
Pyongyang sent roughly 11,000 soldiers<\/a> to help with Vladimir Putin<\/a>\u2019s war effort in November last year, four months after Kyiv<\/a>\u2019s troops seized Russian territory in Kursk<\/a>.
They quickly gained a reputation as being fierce, \u201ccommitted\u201d soldiers, who would often choose suicide over surrender, but were hampered by poor tactics and a language barrier.
In January, South Korea<\/a>\u2019s National Intelligence Service said 300 of Kim\u2019s soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 wounded since joining the conflict.
Alexander Butler reports:<\/em><\/strong>
Kim Jong Un sent roughly 11,000 soldiers to join Vladimir Putin\u2019s troops in November last year
Russia fired 65 drones towards Ukraine 37 of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defences, Kyiv\u2019s military said on Tuesday.
Of the 65 drones, 28 did not reach their targets, likely as a result of electronic warfare, the military added.
Moscow<\/a>\u2019s renewed attacks on Ukraine<\/a>\u2019s electricity infrastructure this winter have heightened scrutiny over the Ukrainian Energy Ministry’s failure to protect the country\u2019s most critical energy facilities near nuclear power sites.
Despite more than a year of warnings that the sites were vulnerable to potential Russian attacks, the Energy Ministry failed to act swiftly, current and former Ukrainian officials in Kyiv<\/a> told The Associated Press.
Two years of punishing Russian strikes on its power grid have left Ukraine reliant on nuclear power for more than half of its electricity generation. Especially vulnerable are the unprotected nuclear switchyards located outside the perimeters of its three functioning nuclear plants, which are crucial to transmitting power from the reactors to the rest of the country.
Full report here:<\/em><\/strong>
Despite more than a year of warnings that critical Ukrainian nuclear energy infrastructure sites are vulnerable to potential Russian attacks, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry has failed to act swiftly to protect them
Russian forces continued to suffer high losses in January 2025 despite a slower rate of advance as compared with previous months in late 2024, the Institute for the Study of War has said.
The US-based think tank cited Russian casualties recorded by the Ukrainian defence ministry and said January was the second-highest month of losses since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian forces have suffered 48,240 casualties in just the past month, amounting to over three Russian motorized rifle divisions worth of personnel, the ISW said, citing Ukrainian figures.
\u201cISW has observed geolocated evidence to assess that Russian forces gained roughly 498 sq km in January in Ukraine and Kursk Oblast, or roughly 16.1sq km per day. The available figures suggest Russian forces suffered roughly 96 casualties per sq km of territory seized,\u201d it said in the latest assessment.
US shipments of weapons into Ukraine were briefly paused in recent days before resuming over the weekend, four people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The shipments restarted after the White House pulled back on its initial assessment to stop all aid to Ukraine, two of the sources said. The brief halt came as the Trump administration debated its policy towards Kyiv.
There are factions inside the administration that are at odds over the extent to which the US should continue to aid Kyiv’s war effort with weapons from US stocks, said one of the people, a US official.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Halting the flow of US weapons would hinder Kyiv’s ability to fight, and put it in a less advantaged negotiation position in peace talks.
It is unclear if the Trump administration will formally acknowledge the pause and subsequent resumption of shipments.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has recorded an \u201calarming\u201d spike in the execution of Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian armed forces.
The UN body said it had received reports of 79 executions in 24 separate incidents since the end of August last year.
“Many Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered or were in physical custody of the Russian armed forces were shot dead on the spot. Witness accounts also described the killings of unarmed and injured Ukrainian soldiers,” the mission said in a statement.
International humanitarian law prohibits the execution of prisoners of war and the wounded, and regards it as a war crime.
Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has called for urgent international action against the Russian atrocities.
“Russia’s horrific executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war demonstrate that Ukraine confronts true beasts,” he said on X. “We need new and effective international legal tools, and concrete steps to hold the perpetrators accountable.\u201d
The Home Office<\/a> has reversed \u201ccatastrophic\u201d changes<\/a> to the Homes for Ukraine<\/a> refugee scheme to ensure that children can now join their parents in the UK, after The Independent<\/em> highlighted instances of families being separated.
While Britain has offered sanctuary to nearly 300,000 Ukrainians after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion<\/a> in 2022, changes to the rules issued overnight last February by the Tory government have prevented some parents from bringing their children to the UK.
Changes brought in without warning by Rishi Sunak\u2019s government mean some Ukrainian refugees have been unable to bring their children to UK
Ryanair is planning to resume flights to and from Ukraine in the hope that Donald Trump will successfully encourage a ceasefire with Russia.
Michael O\u2019Leary, Ryanair chief executive, said that the airline is drafting plans to allow flights to restart within six weeks of the conflict ending at a press conference in London on Wednesday, reports The Telegraph<\/em>.
Natalie Wilson <\/em><\/strong>reports<\/em>:<\/em><\/strong>
Flights could take off for Kyiv within six weeks of a ceasefire, said the budget airline\u2019s CEO
Donald Trump has said he wants Ukraine to supply the United States with rare earth metals as a form of payment for financially supporting the country’s war efforts against Russia.
Mr Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said Ukraine was willing to participate in the idea, adding that he wants “equalisation” from Ukraine for Washington’s “close to $300bn” in support.
“We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths,” Mr Trump said. “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.”
It was not immediately clear if the US president was using the term “rare earths” to refer to all types of critical minerals or just to rare earths.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cellphones and other electronics. There are no known substitutes.
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