US Greenlights $50 Million in Military Aid to Ukraine Following Landmark Minerals Agreement

[frank83628]

1 hour ago, Olav Seglem said:

50 mill NOT impressive.....

But maybe reflect us economy under present administration.

And, MOST european countries GIVE ukraine the money, they dont demand doble or triple back 🙂

(Maybe donnie learned from thai money lenders 🙂

 

Really?. So you think all the other countries gave aid for free? 

They gave loans with interest, Trump just said it out loud, UK got mining contracts, but hardly any media coverage of it

 

[newbee2022]

3 minutes ago, jas007 said:

real negotiations with Russia?

That's only possible with a Russia which WILL negotiate.

I can't see this at present

[jas007]

2 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

That's only possible with a Russia which WILL negotiate.

I can't see this at present

Sure, but Trump drew Zelenskyy into a deal of sorts, so maybe that's "progress"?  Then, threaten Zelenskyy with cutting off further aid unless he concedes to certain of Russia's conditions.  Maybe all of them. 

[BLMFem]

3 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Really?. So you think all the other countries gave aid for free? 

They gave loans with interest, Trump just said it out loud, UK got mining contracts, but hardly any media coverage of it

 

The important thing is that the orcs keep dying, Dmitri.

[Dionigi]

4 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

 

What really matters is that the Ukrainian people expel the invaders and receive justice for the crimes committed against their country. That the US is hovering around like a looter outside a burning building, offering help only if the owner concedes to its extortion, is revolting.  

If the minerals are in the areas occupied by Russia America will be more interested in removing them.

[newbee2022]

54 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Sure, but Trump drew Zelenskyy into a deal of sorts, so maybe that's "progress"?  Then, threaten Zelenskyy with cutting off further aid unless he concedes to certain of Russia's conditions.  Maybe all of them. 

Of course there would be peace when Russia has occupied all of Ukraine. And then Donnie's deal is void.

[scorecard]

8 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

Is the recent announcement that the US will no longer play the role of an intermediary still in play?

It reads like it was decided after this deal was signed.

Good question.

[jas007]

7 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

Of course there would be peace when Russia has occupied all of Ukraine. And then Donnie's deal is void.

I'm pretty sure Russia doesn't really want to occupy all of Ukraine, and it doesn't have to come to that. At this point, Russia would be happy with what it's already taken, among other demands. 

[Rimmer]

31 minutes ago, Dionigi said:

If the minerals are in the areas occupied by Russia America will be more interested in removing them.

 

A significant portion of Ukraine's valuable mineral resources are located in territories currently occupied by Russian forces.

 

Estimates suggest that up to 70% of Ukraine's mineral wealth, valued at approximately $15 trillion, is situated in regions such as Donetsk, Luhansk, and parts of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, which are under Russian control or influence . These areas are rich in critical minerals, including lithium, titanium, uranium, graphite, and rare earth elements. Notably, the Shevchenkivske lithium deposit near Donetsk and the Kruta Balka site in Zaporizhzhia are among the most promising lithium reserves, but they are currently inaccessible due to the ongoing conflict .Al Jazeera+2Eurasian Times+2The Moscow Times+2Wall Street JournalDW+3France 24+3The Moscow Times+3

 

The recent U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement aims to establish a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction and to secure access to these critical mineral resources. However, the realization of this deal faces significant challenges, including the fact that many of these mineral-rich areas are under Russian occupation. The development and exploitation of these resources are contingent upon a lasting peace and the restoration of Ukrainian control over these territories .Reuters+2The Washington Post+2Wall Street Journal+2Reuters

 

Ukraine possesses vast mineral wealth, much of it lies in regions currently occupied by Russia, posing substantial obstacles to their development and utilization in the near term.

[WDSmart]

2 hours ago, dinsdale said:

4 hours ago, WDSmart said:

I support the $50 million in aid, but not requiring Ukraine pay us (the USA) back for that with their minerals. We should be providing the aid without any conditions. 😞

Military aid not humanitarian aid.

Aid is aid, whether humanitarian, military, or agricultural. IMO, this aid should have been given without any conditions concerning repayment. 

[newbee2022]

40 minutes ago, Rimmer said:

 

A significant portion of Ukraine's valuable mineral resources are located in territories currently occupied by Russian forces.

 

Estimates suggest that up to 70% of Ukraine's mineral wealth, valued at approximately $15 trillion, is situated in regions such as Donetsk, Luhansk, and parts of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, which are under Russian control or influence . These areas are rich in critical minerals, including lithium, titanium, uranium, graphite, and rare earth elements. Notably, the Shevchenkivske lithium deposit near Donetsk and the Kruta Balka site in Zaporizhzhia are among the most promising lithium reserves, but they are currently inaccessible due to the ongoing conflict .Al Jazeera+2Eurasian Times+2The Moscow Times+2Wall Street JournalDW+3France 24+3The Moscow Times+3

 

The recent U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement aims to establish a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction and to secure access to these critical mineral resources. However, the realization of this deal faces significant challenges, including the fact that many of these mineral-rich areas are under Russian occupation. The development and exploitation of these resources are contingent upon a lasting peace and the restoration of Ukrainian control over these territories .Reuters+2The Washington Post+2Wall Street Journal+2Reuters

 

Ukraine possesses vast mineral wealth, much of it lies in regions currently occupied by Russia, posing substantial obstacles to their development and utilization in the near term.

Thank you that you agree with me

[dinsdale]

33 minutes ago, WDSmart said:

Aid is aid, whether humanitarian, military, or agricultural. IMO, this aid should have been given without any conditions concerning repayment. 

Your opinion os misguided. Do you think the EU has given military aid for free?

[frank83628]

1 hour ago, BLMFem said:

The important thing is that the orcs keep dying, Dmitri.

Big thing to say from your keyboard, 

[WDSmart]

7 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Your opinion os misguided. Do you think the EU has given military aid for free?

My opinion is guided by my empathy (wokeness). It doesn't matter what the EU has done. I'm talking about the USA, my country. We should give aid to whoever needs it without expecting to be repaid. Otherwise, it's just another Trump business deal. 😞

[BLMFem]

5 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Big thing to say from your keyboard, 

I can understand why stating a fact is a "big thing" in your eyes, as all you do is posting falsehoods.

[LosLobo]

9 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

Is the recent announcement that the US will no longer play the role of an intermediary still in play?

It reads like it was decided after this deal was signed.

Interesting timing, right? The U.S. just approved $50 million in military aid tied to a resource deal, and then announced it's stepping back from mediating peace talks. So much for promises—no peace in Ukraine on day one, not even by day 100. Meanwhile, cost of living keeps climbing. Promises made, promises... well, you know the rest.

US pulls out of mediating between Ukraine and Russia, leaving two sides to discuss peace, official says | The Independent

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-trump-peace-talks-war-b2744049.html

[Magictoad]

6 hours ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

Think you meant Russia is in debt. They started this mess.

Yeah: f*@? Putin and his Russian troops!

[Magictoad]

16 minutes ago, WDSmart said:

My opinion is guided by my empathy (wokeness). It doesn't matter what the EU has done. I'm talking about the USA, my country. We should give aid to whoever needs it without expecting to be repaid. Otherwise, it's just another Trump business deal. 😞

Quite right. In WW2 nobody asked for repayment in advance. In fact Britain only finished paying off America very recently. The agreement was made at Yalta after the war had ended.

[soalbundy]

6 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Jets are not needed (AWACS being an exception). Artillery pieces, shells and air defence systems are way more useful. This deal also means there will be a US presence in Ukraine.

If there is then give it a few years and Hollywood will bring out a sentimental tear inducing film about American heroes singlehandedly driving out the Russian invaders.

[NickyLouie]

9 hours ago, WDSmart said:

I support the $50 million in aid, but not requiring Ukraine pay us (the USA) back for that with their minerals. We should be providing the aid without any conditions. 😞

 

Yeah,... ummm NO , they can pay USA back with something of value 

 

[ThreeCardMonte]

10 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

 

What really matters is that the Ukrainian people expel the invaders and receive justice for the crimes committed against their country. That the US is hovering around like a looter outside a burning building, offering help only if the owner concedes to its extortion, is revolting.  

300 billion isn’t extortion?

[Mike_Hunt]

10 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

 

Excellent point - rather than the vultures circling Ukraine to see what they can loot, the entire bill should be placed solely on the Russian people.

 

How did that work out after WW1, when reparations crushed Germany?   Do you people know anything from history? 

[Mike_Hunt]

9 hours ago, jvs said:

Imo this is a crucial turning point in the war.

The US has to protect their investment in the Ukraine now.

It is not because they want to help but to secure their own interest like they have always be doing every where

they got involved in a war.

Also the announcement by Mark Rutte holds a lot of weight.

Putin is not going to like this very much and probably will huff and puff again but not much he can do.

China has asked the Ukraine not to bomb Moscow during the parade,thereby admitting the danger.

Slave Ukraini!

I hope there is a massive drone attack during the parade.

[jvs]

34 minutes ago, Mike_Hunt said:

I hope there is a massive drone attack during the parade.

I don't think that is going to happen,Xi will be there.

[RuamRudy]

3 hours ago, Mike_Hunt said:

 

How did that work out after WW1, when reparations crushed Germany?   Do you people know anything from history? 

 

So what are you suggesting? That Russia walks away scot free and Ukraine bears the cost of Russia's actions? 

[MicroB]

5 hours ago, NickyLouie said:

 

Yeah,... ummm NO , they can pay USA back with something of value 

 

 

 

 

Good job I know you stole that image from someone else.

 

 

This one isn't even AI. A naked Putin doll. No penis. Butt plug included.

 

 

[CallumWK]

5 hours ago, jvs said:

I don't think that is going to happen,Xi will be there.

 

And what has XI so far done for Ukraine, that warrants they should respect his requests?

[MicroB]

14 hours ago, dinsdale said:

It is $50 mil but it's not a one off. It's the first of a move toward ongoing support.

 

Its not even aid, but a purchase

[MicroB]

11 hours ago, Rimmer said:

 

A significant portion of Ukraine's valuable mineral resources are located in territories currently occupied by Russian forces.

 

Estimates suggest that up to 70% of Ukraine's mineral wealth, valued at approximately $15 trillion, is situated in regions such as Donetsk, Luhansk, and parts of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, which are under Russian control or influence . These areas are rich in critical minerals, including lithium, titanium, uranium, graphite, and rare earth elements. Notably, the Shevchenkivske lithium deposit near Donetsk and the Kruta Balka site in Zaporizhzhia are among the most promising lithium reserves, but they are currently inaccessible due to the ongoing conflict .Al Jazeera+2Eurasian Times+2The Moscow Times+2Wall Street JournalDW+3France 24+3The Moscow Times+3

 

The recent U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement aims to establish a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction and to secure access to these critical mineral resources. However, the realization of this deal faces significant challenges, including the fact that many of these mineral-rich areas are under Russian occupation. The development and exploitation of these resources are contingent upon a lasting peace and the restoration of Ukrainian control over these territories .Reuters+2The Washington Post+2Wall Street Journal+2Reuters

 

Ukraine possesses vast mineral wealth, much of it lies in regions currently occupied by Russia, posing substantial obstacles to their development and utilization in the near term.

 

 

Its not really about rare earth minerals, which Ukraine might have loads of, or not much at all. It depends if the Soviet surveys from 30-40 years ago was any good. And nothing is going to get mined until the emergy grid is fixed. Added to the extensive other infrastructure damage in that area, then its another 5-10 years, and by that time, who knows if we even need it, or it turns out we are all sitting on vast amounts, via 200 years worth of slag heaps (mine tailings). The deal is really about Shale Gas

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-donald-trumps-ukraine-minerals-deals-looks-to-be-more-about-oil-and/

 

Quote

 

Never mind that there is little to no evidence that Ukraine is brimming with rare earths, though it does have scandium, which is used in aluminum alloys. The U.S. Geological Survey, one of the world’s leading science agencies for earth, water and biological resources, does not even show Ukraine as having any reserves of rare earths. It lists the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Russia and Vietnam among the countries with the biggest reserves.

Bloomberg reported that no database used in the mining industry lists Ukraine as a rare-earths player.

 

 

Quote

 

The Ukraine mineral narrative has changed to embrace more prosaic resources, notably oil, natural gas and coal, which Ukraine does have in fairly large amounts (especially gas), with the bonus of a vast network of pipelines to deliver the fuel to European markets.

Ms. Svyrydenko seemed to confirm the shift in extraction strategy. In an April 30 tweet, she said, “The fund will then invest in extraction projects for critical materials, oil, and gas – as well as in related infrastructure and processing.”

 

 

The oil-gas market is worth trillions. The rare earth minteral market is worth low billions. The US doesn't import that much. The US needs to make money, to pay national debt yadda yadda

 

Ukraine can provide half of Europe's gas needs. The US provides the other half. Russia provides nothing. This is key. Russia makes nothing. All it is is, as some say, a glorified gas station. Without Europe, Russia has maybe China and India as major markets. There are no pipelines to India. Everything has to go via 40-50 year old rusty tankers. Russia also needs to make money quickly because it doesn't have any.

 

The deal, which is pretty much what Zelensky proposed to the US in the first place, is delicious. Ukraine's financial future is secure. The US makes money. The EU as a new battle trained partner. Russia is diminshed in its strategic reach.

 

 

https://www.velaw.com/traditional-energy-tracker/resources/ukraine/

 

Quote

Ukraine has an estimated 127.9 trillion cubic feet of unproved technically recoverable shale gas resources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).1 The most promising shale reserves appear to be in the Carpathian Foreland Basin (also called the Lviv-Volyn Basin), which extends across Western Ukraine from Poland into Romania, and the Dnieper-Donets Basin in the East (which borders Russia).

 

https://ukrainetoday.org/the-tables-have-turned-and-putins-russia-is-now-in-dire-trouble/

 

Quote

 

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have together pulled off a remarkable feat of high statecraft. They may have averted a strategic debacle of the first order in Ukraine, and with it irreparable damage to the credibility of the West.

The long-fraught US-Ukraine minerals deal signed in Washington – actually a shale gas deal – is a radically different document from Donald Trump’s original demand for $350bn (£262bn) of war debt “reparations” and the US colonial takeover of the country’s infrastructure.

 

The tables have turned: it is suddenly Vladimir Putin who is in trouble, trying to hold together an exhausted war economy as the price of Urals crude crashes to $56 a barrel – from $77 in mid-January – and as the global economic downturn tips the whole commodity complex into a cascading bear market. The spot price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia has fallen 30pc over two months.

It comes as China tries to charm Europe, urgently seeking to preempt any EU moves to raise its own barriers against a diversionary flood of Chinese exports shut out of America. Xi Jinping may have to dial down his “no-limits friendship” with Putin – and reduce his covert help for Russia’s war – if he wants a serious hearing.

 

This opens the way for serious investment in the shale gas resources of the Yuzivska field. As I reported earlier this month, an internal study by Ukrainian experts concluded that the carbon ratio, porosity and thickness match the best US shale basins in the Marcellus and Permian.

“We could replace half the lost Russian gas exports to Europe,” said Andríy Kóbolyev, ex-head of Ukraine’s energy giant Naftogaz. If so, Russia can kiss goodbye to its European gas market forever. Ukrainian pipeline gas and American LNG will suffice.

 

 

 

Contracts are already in place with Shell and Chevron for the shale gas.

 

 

 

 

[Pouatchee]

18 hours ago, WDSmart said:

We should be providing the aid without any conditions.

 

Really? and why is that? If Ukraine has something to barter they should barter. BTW, how many hard working american and european tax dollars have been skimmed off the top by ukrainian officials?

 

Quote

Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Ukraine 104th out of 180 countries, indicating ongoing issues.