EU offers its own ‘win-win’ minerals deal to Ukraine

The European Union offered its own agreement on “critical materials” to Ukraine on Monday, just as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Washington was close to inking a deal with Kyiv for the rights to its vast natural resources.

Europe’s Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné said he’d pitched the rival proposal to Ukrainian officials he met in Kyiv during a visit by the European Commission to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“Twenty-one of the 30 critical materials Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine in a win-win partnership,” Séjourné said, according to AFP.

And he noted pointedly: “The added value Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that’s not mutually beneficial.”

Trump has made increasingly aggressive overtures toward Ukraine for the rights to its mineral riches, demanding as much as $500 billion in compensation for Washington’s support for Kyiv in fending off Moscow’s invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has so far refused to sign two draft agreements proposed by the Trump’s administration, saying the terms — which the New York Times reported included Kyiv giving up minerals, oil and gas revenues, plus earnings from ports and other infrastructure to the tune of $500 billion — were too harsh.

“I will not sign what 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference Sunday.

But Trump insisted Monday that a “final deal” is “very close” and that it will include “rare earths and various other things.”

Ukraine holds huge deposits of critical elements and minerals, from lithium to titanium, which are vital to manufacturing modern technologies and highly coveted in the global race for resources.

It also has vast coal reserves, as well as oil, gas and uranium, but much of this is in territories under Russian control.