Kenya Insights

Tag: Ukraine minerals

  • Zelensky Says Ukraine Ready To Sign Minerals Deal with United States

    Zelensky Says Ukraine Ready To Sign Minerals Deal with United States

    Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals deal with the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told UK media on Sunday.

    “The agreement that’s on the table will be signed if the parties are ready,” he told a late-night huddle with some UK media after a landmark summit in London.

    The deal, which was supposed to be a step towards helping to end the conflict in Ukraine, fell through on Friday after a televised Oval Office clash with US President Donald Trump.

    “It is our policy to continue what happened in the past, we’re constructive,” Zelensky said, quoted by the BBC.

    “If we agreed to sign the minerals deal, we’re ready to sign it.”

    Zelensky had travelled to Washington for a full White House visit on Friday to sign a US-Ukrainian deal for the joint exploitation of Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, as part of a post-war recovery in a US-brokered peace deal.

    But in their Oval Office meeting, Trump berated Zelensky, telling him to be more “thankful” for US support in the three-year war and that without US assistance Ukraine would have been conquered by Russia.

    “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out,” Trump added. “And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”

    The US leader had previously said the proposed minerals deal would be “very fair”.

    The proposal was to give Washington financial benefits for helping Ukraine in a truce, even if Trump has repeatedly refused to commit any US military force as a back-up to European troops who might act as peacekeepers.

    After the heated exchange, Zelensky drove off in his motorcade shortly after having been asked to leave, without holding a planned joint press conference. The resources deal was left unsigned, the White House said.

    Ukraine’s allies rallied around Zelensky on Sunday at a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer who said many European leaders had pledged to spend more on security and assemble a coalition to defend any truce.

    French President Emmanuel Macron, flying back from the London summit, said in a newspaper interview that France and Britain wanted to propose a partial one-month truce with Russia.

    (AP)

  • US Threatens To Shut Off Starlink If Ukraine Won’t Sign Minerals Deal, Sources Tell Reuters

    US Threatens To Shut Off Starlink If Ukraine Won’t Sign Minerals Deal, Sources Tell Reuters

    U.S. negotiators pressing Kyiv for access to Ukraine’s critical minerals have raised the possibility of cutting the country’s access to Elon Musk’s vital Starlink satellite internet system, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

    Ukraine’s continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was brought up in discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned down an initial proposal from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the sources said.

    Starlink provides crucial internet connectivity to war-torn Ukraine and its military.

    The issue was raised again on Thursday during meetings between Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special Ukraine envoy, and Zelenskiy, said one of the sources, who was briefed on the talks.

    During the meeting, Ukraine was told it faced imminent shutoff of the service if it did not reach a deal on critical minerals, said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss closed negotiations.

    “Ukraine runs on Starlink. They consider it their North Star,” said the source. “Losing Starlink … would be a massive blow.”

    Zelenskiy has rejected demands from President Donald Trump’s administration for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid, saying the U.S. has offered no specific security guarantees.

    On Friday, the Ukrainian president said the U.S. and Ukrainian teams were working on an agreement and Trump said he expects a deal will be signed soon.

    Musk rushed thousands of Starlink terminals to Ukraine to replace communications services destroyed by Russia after its February 2022 invasion. Hailed as a hero in Ukraine, Musk later curtailed access at least once before in the fall of 2022 as he became more critical of Kyiv’s handling of the war.

    U.S. lawmakers are divided over Trump’s efforts to find a quick end to the Ukraine war and some have raised questions about Musk’s rapid-fire efforts to cull thousands of federal workers and shut down Federal agencies.

    Melinda Haring, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, said Starlink was essential for Ukraine’s operation of drones, a key pillar of its military strategy.

    “Losing Starlink would be a game changer,” Haring said, noting that Ukraine was now at 1:1 parity with Russia in terms of drone usage and artillery shells. Ukraine has a wide range of different drone capabilities, ranging from sea drones and surveillance drones to long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

    The Ukrainian embassy in Washington, the White House and the U.S. Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    SpaceX, which operates Starlink, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Last fall, Ukraine floated the idea of opening its critical minerals to investment by allies. This was part of a “victory plan” that sought to put it in the strongest position for talks and force Moscow to the table.

    Trump has embraced the idea, saying he wants Ukraine to supply the U.S. with rare earths and other minerals in return for financially supporting its war effort.

    Zelenskiy rejected a detailed U.S. proposal last week that would have seen Washington and U.S. firms receiving 50% of Ukraine’s critical minerals, which include graphite, uranium, titanium and lithium, a key component in electric car batteries.

    Since then a rift has emerged between the leaders, with Trump denouncing Zelenskiy as “a dictator without elections” on Wednesday after Zelenskiy said Trump was trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble, a response to the U.S. president suggesting Ukraine started the war.

    (Reuters)