Ukraine awards major lithium field to Trump's ally — NYT
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
Ukraine is handing over the development of the large Dobra lithium deposit in the Kirovohrad region to a consortium whose investors include Ronald Lauder, a friend of US President Donald Trump, according to The New York Times.
Sources told the agency that the relevant commission has already made a decision, and it will be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers soon.
Another investor is the energy company TechMet, which is partly owned by a US government investment agency created during Trump's first presidency.
According to two members of the commission, the tender was impartial, and the winner met most of its criteria.
The project to develop the deposit in the Kirovohrad region may be one of the first to be implemented under the agreement between the US and Ukraine on cooperation in the field of mineral resources.
Dobra lithium field
The field is located in the Kirovohrad region (near Dobrovelychkivka) and is of strategic importance for the production of batteries for electric vehicles.
It is one of the largest lithium deposits in Ukraine, with about 80-105 million tons of ore containing 1.1-1.4% Li₂O.
There are two sites (Stankuvate and Nadiia) with a combined total of approximately 1.2 million tons of lithium ore.
Ronald Lauder
Ronald Lauder has known Trump since his student days and reportedly suggested the idea of buying Greenland to him.
Lauder is a billionaire and a major donor to the Republican Party from New York. He is also the heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics empire, founded by his parents, Estee and Joseph Lauder.
Forbes estimated Lauder's fortune in May 2025 at $4.7 billion, placing him 796th on the list of global billionaires.
On May 1, 2025, Ukraine and the United States signed an agreement to establish a US-Ukraine Investment Fund.
On May 8, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the intergovernmental agreement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the law on May 12, completing the ratification process.
