Trump finally makes Ukraine pay; Kremlin mocks Mineral Resources deal

U.S. and Ukrainian officials have signed a long-awaited Minerals Deal which specifically

grants the U.S. privileged access to Ukraine’s natural resources, including rare earth

minerals, aluminium, graphite, oil, and natural gas. It also details the economic pact between the U.S. and Ukraine. 

But the Kremlin is laughing: “Trump has finally forced the Kiev regime to pay for U.S. aid with mineral resources,” Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and former president of Russia, said on May 1 st , 2025. “Now, the country that is about to disappear will have to use its national wealth to pay for military supplies".

President Donald Trump pitched the deal as a good way to recover the costs in military aid that the Biden administration gave to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022. When NewsNation asked Trump whether the minerals deal would “inhibit” Putin, Trump said that “it could” but argued that the only reason for agreeing to the pact was to recoup the billions of dollars in military assistance gifted by Biden.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a session of the educational marathon "Knowledge. First" in Moscow, Russia, April 30, 2025. (Sputnik, Alexander Kazakov/Reuters)