Ukraine's rare earth elements could help keep US military aid flowing

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has offered to strike a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump for continued American military aid in exchange for developing Ukraine’s mineral industry, which could provide a valuable source of the rare earth elements that are essential for many kinds of technology.

Trump said that he wanted such a deal earlier this month, and it was initially proposed last fall by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv’s hand in future negotiations with Moscow.

“We really have this big potential in the territory which we control,” Andrii Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. “We are interested to work, to develop, with our partners, first of all, with the United States.”

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Rare earth elements are a set of 17 elements that are essential to many kinds of consumer technology, including cellphones, hard drives and electric and hybrid vehicles.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-rare-earth-elements-trump-6a4a95d4370a2e46a81ce4a3a352bf8f

Malcolm Nance predicted last week that Zelensky would play Trump on this issue. His suggestion was that he tell Trump the elements are in territory held be Russia and that if he wanted them, he needed to help them liberate that area.