Zelensky rare earths ‘divide’ map bait strategy Trump LNG ‘European supply base’ provided
President Zelensky attempted to escape the crisis of losing negotiating authority at the end of his term by revealing rare earth deposits to Reuters as bait and even provided a pro-Trump US LNG European supply base.
President Zelensky, whose term ended in August last year, invited Reuters reporters into the heavily guarded area and showed them a classified rare earth deposit map, saying, “When Ukraine became independent in 1991, Russia took the key mineral geological survey map,” suggesting that the war in Ukraine was caused by the seizure of rare earths.
Reuters reported on the 7th that “rare earths are important for the manufacture of high-performance magnets, electric motors and home appliances,” and that “Ukraine quickly adjusted its foreign policy approach to fit the transactional worldview presented by the new occupant of the White House, Ukraine’s most important ally.”
A Reuters reporter reported on the 7th that “President Zelensky unfolded a map on a table in the heavily guarded presidential office in Kiev, showing numerous mineral deposits, including a large area in eastern Ukraine that is indicated to have rare earth deposits, about half of which appear to be on the Russian side of the front line,” and “He said that Ukraine has the largest deposits of titanium, which is essential for the aviation and space industries, and uranium, which is used in nuclear energy and weapons, in Europe, and many of the titanium deposits were marked in northwestern Ukraine, far from the fighting.”
Zelensky, who released the “deposit map” to Reuters, appears to have tried to use it as a bait strategy to block the Trump regime from negotiating directly with the Putin regime.
After releasing the map to Reuters on the 7th, U.S. President Trump told reporters at the White House on the 7th that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would “meet as early as next week.” Yomiuri reported on the 7th, “President Zelensky is expected to visit the United States,” and “President Zelensky said in an interview with Reuters on the 7th (local time), ‘It is important for partners to discuss their own issues first and then talk to the enemy,’ expressing his intention to meet President Trump before President Putin.”
Yomiuri continued, “It is known that the United States and Russia are wary of progressing in ceasefire negotiations,” and “Zelensky said, ‘If it is a negotiation, I am fully in favor of it,’” regarding the supply of rare earths to the United States.
Regarding the disclosure of the secret mine map, Reuters reported, “In an interview with Reuters on the 7th, President Zelensky looked closely at a map of rare earth and other key mineral deposits that were once classified, and this was part of an effort to appeal to Trump’s negotiating tendencies,” and “The U.S. administration, which is pressuring for an early end to the war, said on the 3rd that it wants Ukraine to supply rare earths and other minerals to the United States in return for financial support of the war effort.”
“Less than 20 percent of Ukraine’s mineral resources, including about half of our rare earths, are controlled by Russia,” Zelensky told Reuters. “We can open these resources to our allies, North Korea and Iran, who have declared themselves enemies of the United States, and we have to stop Putin and protect what we have, the very rich Dnipro region in central Ukraine.”
Zelensky continued, saying Ukraine has the largest reserves of titanium in Europe, which is essential for aviation and space, and uranium, which is used in nuclear energy and weapons. “The Americans have helped the most, so the Americans should earn the most. And they should have that priority, and they will. “I would also like to talk to President Trump about this,” he told Reuters.
Zelensky added that Russia knows “exactly where Ukraine’s key resources are from Soviet-era geological surveys that were taken to Moscow when Kiev became independent in 1991,” and that “Ukraine is not ‘giving away’ our resources, but rather proposing a mutually beneficial partnership to jointly develop our resources.”
Zelensky said that in a particularly Trump-tailored proposal, “Kiev and the White House are discussing using Ukraine’s vast underground gas storage to store U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG),” adding, “I know the Trump administration is very interested in that, and we are ready and willing to sign a contract to supply LNG to Ukraine. Of course, we will be the hub for all of Europe,” he said, limiting Trump’s “bridgehead” for expanding his dominance beyond Europe.
Reuters reported that the “sudden interview” took place just before the opening of the Munich Security Conference in Europe on the 14th, and that the Ukrainian leader said it was essential for the U.S. president to meet Trump in person before meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying “otherwise it would look like a conversation about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Reporting on the map, Reuters said, “Many of the titanium deposits were marked in northwestern Ukraine, far from the fighting,” and that Trump’s peace push came as advancing Russian forces threatened Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in Ukraine.
Zelensky added to Reuters that Ukrainian forces had for the first time confirmed a new offensive on the 6th, advancing 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) further into Russia’s Kursk region, but Russia said that Ukrainian attacks in the area were reported that day but were repelled. “Zelensky “Thousands of North Korean troops fighting on Russia’s side have returned to the fight against Kiev forces in Kursk after weeks of a ceasefire,” it said.
Reuters reported, skeptical of Zelensky’s government’s attempt to recruit 18-year-olds, saying, “Next week, the government plans to launch a lucrative recruitment contract to attract young men aged 18 to 24 who are under conscription age to ease the manpower shortage,” adding, “President Zelensky did not say how many men are expected to sign up.”
Rare earth resources are “rare earths” and are metals whose total content in the Earth’s crust is less than 300 ppm (three hundred millionths of a millionth). They are a group of 17 elements, including the 15 lanthanide elements with atomic numbers 57 to 71, scandium, and yttrium.
Rare earths were first discovered in 1787. Starting with yttrium, which was first discovered in Sweden, 17 elements were discovered in succession until the 1910s. Most of them are mixed with radioactive materials, making them difficult to extract, but they are treated as essential resources for the production of advanced products such as mobile phones, semiconductors, and hybrid cars, and have become the ‘vitamins of advanced industries’ and ‘essentials of green industries.’
Korea imports all of its rare earth elements from China, which monopolizes 95% of global production.
China’s ‘rare earth monopoly’ is due to its large production volume directly linked to environmental pollution, and its reserves are at around 39%, with four major powers: Russia (19%), the United States (13%), Australia (5%), and India (3%).
Until the 1980s, the United States accounted for half of global production, but it plummeted after the closure of the Mountain Pass rare earth mine and refinery in California, and China rose sharply.