By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv, Feb 5 (EFE).- The suggestion by Donald Trump that the United States could support Ukraine in its fight against Russia in exchange for access to its rare earth minerals received a mostly positive reaction in the invaded country that seeks more committed support from its key ally amid the lingering uncertainty.
International interest in Ukrainian minerals could help achieve a sustainable and just peace, Volodymyr Landa, senior economist at Ukraine’s Center for Economic Strategy (CES), told EFE.
“If we have more foreign companies in Ukraine, their governments will be interested in more than a temporary ceasefire, which will reduce the likelihood of further aggression by Russia,” he underlined.
Interest
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy already discussed providing access to rare minerals in exchange for more decisive support at the meeting with Trump in September, having previously included it in his Victory Plan.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian head of state stressed that it is “completely fair” for Trump to ask to benefit economically from these Ukrainian resources.
However, it is not yet completely clear which resources Trump is talking about, Landa noted.
Rare earth metals such as scandium, yttrium, and lanthanum, are important to produce electronic devices, explosives, and nuclear equipment. While concise data about their reserves in Ukraine is a state secret, the country isn’t known to have much of them, according to CES.
According to Landa, what likely ignites interest from the US is their distribution across the globe.
70% of them are currently being extracted in China, where a bulk of global reserves are concentrated, while only 12% is being extracted in the US. Securing access to Ukraine’s resources could help the US decrease risks as its geopolitical struggle with China intensifies.
Strategic minerals
The same argument also applies to strategic minerals (such as titan, lithium, nickel, and cobalt) which are in high demand due to their importance for technological production and are, Landa said, what Trump has in mind.
According to CES, Ukraine has 8 million tons, or about 1% of the world’s reserves of titanium used in mechanical engineering. Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine accounted for 6-7% of its global extraction.
It also has several deposits of lithium, crucial for the production of rechargeable batteries. Its reserves are estimated at 500,000 tons, less than 2% globally, yet a significant amount for Europe, even though some of it is now in occupied or contested zones.
Nickel and cobalt are also of great interest to industry, both in the US and the European Union.
While some in Ukraine warn against giving up critical resources and note possible risks for the environment, most look pragmatically at using every chance to gain more support, especially given the West’s uneven military support and its reluctance to invite Ukraine to join NATO or send its troops as peacekeepers.
A security guarantee
Ukraine’s objective is to survive the war and ensure peace afterward, Landa argued, noting that the country is ready to share some of its future economic prosperity in exchange for security.
“The presence of business interests and investments of Western companies in Ukraine is one of the best guarantees of security for our future,” Ilona Sologoub, head of the VoxUkraine analytical platform, also wrote.
Trump still lacks a clear policy on Ukraine and offering access to its resources would be a good way to tip the scales in Ukraine’s favor, Tymofiy Mylovanov, President of Kyiv School of Economics, argued in X.
Currently, Ukraine’s biggest asset in the industry, a recently privatized UMCC-Titanium is worth some 100 million euros, only a fraction of the support that Ukraine requires, Landa said.
Realizing the potential of its rare minerals will require streamlining state regulation and overcoming other barriers to investment.
“Ukraine will need to do its homework and offer options acceptable to our international partners,” Landa underlined. EFE
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