Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says Ukraine may be Russian someday while demanding $500bn rare earth deal
Trump says Kyiv has 'essentially agreed' to $500bn deal for rare earth minerals
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump said Ukraine may or may not lose its sovereignty to Russia while claiming that the war-hit nation had “essentially agreed” to a rare earth minerals deal with the US.
"They may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday.
“But we’re going to have all this money in [Ukraine] and I say, I want it back," the president said in an interview with Fox News.
"I told them that I want the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earths, and they’ve essentially agreed to do that.”
His remarks came as Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said it would not be possible to reach a peace deal if Mr Trump undermined Mr Putin’s fundamental aims.
“Without solving the problems which were the root causes of what is happening, it will not be possible to reach an agreement,” he said.
“So variations and half-measures are not the path we are prepared to go along.”
Ukraine’s leading rapper is now leading drone warfare against Russia
Ukraine’s leading rapper is now leading drone warfare against Russia
Ukraine’s $1.3bn drone war is now being led by a rap artist who has been fighting on the frontline – and in his music - since the start of the war, Sam Kiley reports
says Trump aides to visit Ukraine this week
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that “serious people” from US president Donald Trump's administration will visit Ukraine this week.
In a video released by Ukrainian media outlet UNIAN, Mr Zelensky said the visit would take place before the annual Munich Security Conference this weekend where he said he plans to have a meeting with US vice president JD Vance.
China's foreign minister to visit Britain on Thursday for talks
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is due to visit Britain on Thursday to hold talks with his British counterpart David Lammy in a sign that relations between the countries are normalising after years of tensions.
Issues to be discussed include international security and the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman told reporters.
Lammy and Wang will revive the UK-China Strategic Dialogue, a forum last held in 2018 to discuss bilateral issues.
That dialogue was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and after Britain restricted some Chinese investment on worries over national security and over a crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong.
The Labour government, in power in Britain since July, has made improving ties with China one of its main foreign policy goals after a period under successive Conservative governments when relations plunged to their lowest level in decades.
British finance minister Rachel Reeves visited China last month in a bid to revive economic and financial talks that had been frozen since 2019.
British embassy employee accused of assaulting journalist in Russia
British embassy employee accused of assaulting journalist at Russian airport
Russian authorities are accusing the embassy of ignoring a police request for information
US funding freeze threatens investigations of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine
The Trump administration's freeze of foreign funding has begun impacting an international effort to hold Russia responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, according to eight sources and a Ukrainian document seen by Reuters, halting dozens of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in aid.
Ukraine has opened more than 140,000 war crime cases since Moscow's February 2022 invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, ravaged vast swathes of the country and left behind mental and physical scars from occupation. Russia consistently denies war crimes have been committed by its forces in the conflict.
US-funded international initiatives such as the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine (ACA) have provided expertise and oversight to Ukrainian authorities. Kyiv has been praised by its Western partners for probing alleged crimes while the war is still raging.
At stake are six US-funded projects at the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) valued at $89 million, according to a Ukrainian document on the US funding and cuts seen by Reuters.
Funding for at least five of those projects has already been frozen, according to five sources directly involved, who cited interruptions in payments. The affected worked on issues ranging from the preservation of evidence from the battlefield to anti-corruption initiatives and reform of Ukraine's prosecution system.
Two of the listed projects were funded by USAID, three by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and one directly by the Department of State, the document showed.
Of that funding, $47 million was directly allocated to war crimes accountability, the document showed.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments