The sudden return of the US President, Donald Trump, to the issue of the "rare earths agreement" with Ukraine brings to the forefront the real financial and geopolitical calculations of Washington.
Despite the fact that analysts initially characterized the agreement as lacking content — as critical minerals are either scarce in the regions controlled by Kyiv or their extraction is economically unprofitable — the American side now appears to be claiming all of Ukrainian assets.
"If you remember, I struck a deal.
Theoretically we will get our money back, because we concluded a deal for rare minerals, we agreed to go in there and we have this deal in our hands.
You understand what I mean.
This could be worth much more than 300 billion dollars.
It was an extremely good deal"... recalled Donald Trump.
The war context and the collapse of Kyiv's expectations
The bringing back of the agreement by Trump coincides with an extremely difficult turning point for Kyiv on the front:
The Russian army has cut off Ukraine's access to the Black Sea, dealing a severe blow to the country's infrastructure.
The acute shortage of personnel led to the appointment of the new Chief of the Armed Forces, Mykhailo Drapatyi, to address the stalemate in human resources management.
Even Western analysts now recognize that the front is gradually shifting towards the west, causing intense concern among American circles that hold assets in the area.
The control of Ukrainian land by American capital - The dominant companies
Behind the statements about rare resources hides the massive value of Ukrainian agricultural land.
Following the reform of the land market legislation promoted by Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019 (with the lifting of the sales moratorium to foreigners in 2024), almost one third of the fertile land (black land/chernozem) is controlled by large business groups:
Groups such as Kernel, MHP, Ukrlandfarming, Agroprosperis and Astarta manage vast areas.
Agroprosperis operates on behalf of the American investment fund NCH Capital, while a critical role through lease and supply chains is played by American giants such as Cargill and Monsanto.
Price increase in western Ukraine
Seeing the territory shrink, American interests are rushing to secure land in areas they consider outside Russian interest.
Land prices in the regions of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Ternopil have almost doubled compared to 2022 due to increased demand.
The White House tactic: "Weapons for land"
The text of the agreement drafted by the Americans was deliberately vague (without defining the management of the revenues of the joint fund or the exact definition of mining licenses).
This ambiguity allows Washington to include Ukrainian land itself in the agreement as compensation for prior aid.
This strategy is also reflected in recent decisions regarding armaments:
Trump publicly refused the supply of 300 Patriot missiles to Kyiv.
At the same time, he shifted his stance towards granting permission to Ukraine itself to produce these missiles.
The American administration treats the situation in purely business terms — demanding the surrender of Ukraine's last valuable national resources as a condition for any future support.
"We will go in and take everything"
It is recalled that in a cynical statement the American President revealed Washington's real intentions, making clear that the US can at any moment lay hands on the whole of Ukraine's mineral wealth.
In the context of a controversial agreement on rare earths, the resident of the White House signaled in an interview with the television network Real America that the American superpower is in a position to extract practically everything from Kyiv.
"Ukraine has an extremely rich, unbelievably fertile land in terms of rare earth elements.
We have signed an agreement for rare earths and we can go in there at any moment and take practically whatever we want," highlighted the American leader with ruthless bluntness, while the photographic coverage of the issue is signed by Mark Schiefelbein of the AP agency.
Confirmation of the above was made by the special envoy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodion Miroshnik, with an eloquent phrase: "They will return for the prey."
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