Follow us on social

Trump Zelensky Putin

Diplomacy Watch: Trump wants swap of Ukraine's minerals for aid

But how much of these natural resources are already in Russian hands?

QiOSK

President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that future U.S. military aid to Ukraine could be given in exchange for valuable natural resources, echoing an idea that Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy originally proposed in October.

“We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth,” Trump said. It isn’t clear which rare earth metals Trump is referring to, but Ukraine’s mineral deposits include lithium, uranium, and titanium, and are worth an estimated several trillion dollars. In addition, Trump did not clarify how much of that value he wants to extract, merely saying that he wants “equalization” from Ukraine for past U.S. military aid dating back to the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. This would amount to roughly $66 billion.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine welcomes “investment” from its defense partners, but did not specifically mention Trump.

Following an European Union meeting in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz claimed that Trump’s proposal was “self-centered” and said that Ukraine’s mineral wealth should instead be spent on reconstruction efforts when the war ends.

Even if Zelenskyy does eventually address or even support Trump’s plan, many of Ukraine’s mineral deposits are now in Russian hands.

Since August 2024, Russia’s military strategy has shifted to target mineral rich Ukrainian land areas. As Ian Proud reported for Responsible Statecraft, Russian forces have made significant progress in capturing coal, uranium, and lithium mines. In the process they have weakened a Ukrainian economy that is already in massive debt and has been suspended from major international lending markets.

Whenever the war in Ukraine does finally end, it seems unlikely that the country will be able to use its own natural resources to get back on its feet.

In other Ukraine War news this week:

According to Al Arabiya, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are both contenders to host a meeting between Trump and Putin for Ukraine peace talks.

In the New York Times, Russian sources said yesterday that they have established contact with the Trump administration about potential talks. This was confirmed by President Trump. “And we are talking to the Russians. We are talking to the Ukrainians,” he said.

Trump's team is apparently split over how to approach ending the war, according to NBC, with some members (including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and General Keith Kellogg) favoring applying pressure on Russia through sanctions and tariffs. Other advisors want to pressure Ukraine by threatening to withdraw military support.

Russia and Ukraine completed a major exchange of captured prisoners in a deal brokered by the UAE, further cementing the UAE's role as a mediator in the conflict, according to France 24,

And in Ukraine, many humanitarian aid groups have halted operations following Trump's aid freeze, says the New York Times.

There was no State Department Briefing this week



Top photo credit: Khody Akhavi

Diplomacy Watch

QiOSK
Benjamin Netanyahu
Top Image Credit: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the U.S. Independence Day reception, known as the annual "Fourth of July" celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool (ReutersConnect)

Netanyahu’s ‘total victory’ rhetoric takes an extreme turn

Middle East

As Israel’s war on Gaza escalates with IDF troops now moving to take over Gaza City, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been deploying more extreme language than usual to describe his plans for “total” victory over Hamas. He has eschewed ceasefire talks, and is instead leaning into his expansive vision for a “Greater Israel,” which not only includes an Israeli takeover of Gaza but of neighboring territories too.

His public remarks and media appearances over the last week have caused some to observe that the prime minister may be taking his approach, which is already heavily influenced by the hardline right wing in his cabinet, to an even more maximalist level.

keep readingShow less
Houthis Yemen
Top image credit: Houthi supporters shout slogans and hold up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, in Sana a, Yemen, 15 August 2025. IMAGO/ Sanaa Yemen via REUTERS

Why Israel won't beat the Houthis

Middle East

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to "cut the hands" of Israel's enemies, but his specific target — Yemen's Houthi movement (Ansarullah) — has not only survived months of IDF and U.S. military pressure, but has also grown stronger with each confrontation.

The latest Israeli strike on Heyzaz power plant near Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, exemplifies this strategic failure: a symbolic attack on civilian infrastructure that inflicts severe hardship on Yemen's civilian population while doing nothing to degrade Houthi military capabilities.

keep readingShow less
Putin Trump
Top image credit: President Donald Trump meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin in the Billy Mitchell Room at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday, August 15, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

Did the Alaska Summit usher in a new ice age?

Global Crises

The Trump-Putin Alaska summit was about far more than Ukraine. Since long before the meeting in Anchorage, the Arctic has been recognized as a setting for U.S.-Russia cooperation.

Now, with the historic presidential summit in the unexpected location of Alaska, the Arctic has been confirmed as one of the key areas for the normalization of the bilateral relationship.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.