Summary
Donald Trump stated that U.S. aid to Ukraine should be compensated with $500 billion worth of its mineral resources, including rare earth elements.
He claimed Ukraine had “essentially agreed” to this arrangement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hinted at allowing U.S. access to these resources to maintain support.
The idea aligns with Ukraine’s “victory plan” for post-war recovery.
Trump’s comments drew criticism, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemning his approach as “very egotistic, very self-centered.”
Half of the initial proposal is $250 billion, not $2.5 billion. $250 billion is the entire GDP of Ukraine. There is no world in which half a trillion is a sensible number here
Ukraine won’t have a GDP without continued American support (or if Europe gets their heads out of their ass(es), highly unlikely). Your proposal is… what exactly?
Historically, forcing a country into unreasonably high debt immediately following a war… is a pretty bad idea for literally all parties involved.
Europe is already doing more than America. But my proposal is that maybe we don’t extort the Ukrainians into oblivion