{"id":125266,"date":"2025-02-04T17:39:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T17:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kremlin-opposes-trump-demands-for-rare-minerals-from-kyiv-as-izyum-strike-kills-5-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T17:39:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T17:39:40","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-kremlin-opposes-trump-demands-for-rare-minerals-from-kyiv-as-izyum-strike-kills-5-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-kremlin-opposes-trump-demands-for-rare-minerals-from-kyiv-as-izyum-strike-kills-5-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin opposes Trump demands for rare minerals from Kyiv as Izyum strike kills 5 – 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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Russia<\/a> has voiced its opposition to Donald Trump\u2019s demands<\/a> that Ukraine<\/a> 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 \u201cit would be better of course for the assistance to not be provided at all\u201d.
A day earlier, Mr Trump had said he was \u201clooking to do a deal with Ukraine where they\u2019re going to secure what we\u2019re giving them with their rare earths and other things\u201d.
Ukraine has one of the largest untapped resources of rare earth minerals, worth around \u00a312 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<\/a> wrote: \u201cThis brutality cannot be tolerated. Maximum pressure must be applied to Russia \u2013 through military force, sanctions, and diplomacy \u2013 to stop the terror and protect lives.\u201d
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 \u201cworking dates\u201d for an American delegation to visit.
Commenting on US president Donald Trump\u2019s 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<\/em> 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\u2019m at Kyivska electrical substation,\u201d an important part of Ukraine\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s involvement in the war, Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s official spokesman said the government advises against travel to Ukraine.
The spokesman said: \u201cOur long-standing position is that we advise against all travel to Ukraine except some western regions of the country.
\u201cThe government is supporting Ukraine wherever we can, we want to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position.\u201d
But, asked directly whether the PM would advise against more Brits signing up to fight for Ukraine, the spokesman repeated: \u201cWe advise against all travel to Ukraine except some western regions of the country.\u201d
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: \u201cWe\u2019re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths. \u201cWe\u2019re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they\u2019re going to secure what we\u2019re giving them with their rare earths and other things.\u201d
Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal has said that \u201conly force and pressure\u201d can stop Russia\u2019s war of aggression.
The politician issued the statement alongside a video of Russia\u2019s latest missile strike on the northeast Ukrainian city of Izyum, which has killed five people and injured 30 more.
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