Zelenskyy wants to refuse minerals deal - Trump

According to the US President, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will face problems if he abandons the agreement.

"He's trying to back out of the rare earth deal and if he does that he’s got some problems, big, big problems," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Is Zelenskyy really refusing the deal

On Friday, March 28, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine had only officially received the US draft agreement on subsoil resources on that day. However, it contained provisions that the parties had previously rejected.

"This is a completely different document; there’s a lot in it that wasn’t discussed, and some things have appeared that the parties had already discarded," the president said at a briefing.

He emphasized that he wanted to receive a specific legal review. Lawyers will need to examine the document and compare all versions of the agreement. Zelenskyy publicly stated that some of the proposals in the agreement would be discarded, and once there are no legislative threats, he will assess it. For now, according to the president, he doesn’t want to react to every message.

It is also important to mention that in February 2025, Zelenskyy and Trump were supposed to sign a framework agreement on rare earth resources. However, due to a dispute at the White House between the two leaders, the document was never signed.

As previously known, the parties had initially intended to sign a framework agreement, but now the US has proposed signing a full agreement on subsoil resources. The agreement stipulated that the US would gain full control over the energy and mining sectors.

For more details on what’s wrong with Donald Trump’s proposal and what risks Ukraine faces, read the full article by RBC-Ukraine.