By Rorisang Modiba
- Trump says Ukraine’s president is coming to sign a deal swapping minerals for military help worth R6.43-trillion.
- The deal comes after months of talks, with Ukraine getting less than first promised but avoiding huge debt.
US President Donald Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a deal trading Ukraine’s minerals for US military support.
Ukraine will get R6.43 trillion in military aid to help fight Russia. This is less than was first offered, but Ukraine won’t have to pay back R9.19 trillion as originally suggested.
The Financial Times broke the story of the new deal. Instead of Ukraine owing money, the two countries will share a fund to extract Ukraine’s minerals.
But Ukraine didn’t get everything it wanted. The deal doesn’t promise long-term protection from Russia, and it’s also not clear how much of the mining fund the US will own.
Trump posted on social media that Russia isn’t against the deal, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has other plans—he wants to make his own mining deals in parts of Ukraine that Russia controls.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2025
Both countries want to sign the deal quickly, but some details still need to be worked out.
Meanwhile, Trump attacked Zelenskyy at a meeting in Florida, calling him a “dictator.” This came after Zelenskyy said Trump believed Russian lies about peace talks in Saudi Arabia that left Ukraine out.
Trump also claimed Zelenskyy was good at getting former President Joe Biden to do what he wanted.
Pictured above: Donald Trump and Zelenskyy.
Image source: File
