Ukraine "May Be Russian Someday," Trump Declares

U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine may fall under Russian control “someday,” while calling for the war-torn country to share its natural resources in exchange for U.S. assistance, Edward Szekeres reported for CNN.

Trump's return to power has cast doubt over billions of dollars in future U.S. aid to Ukraine.

Trump, whose return to power has cast doubt over billions of dollars in future U.S. aid to Ukraine, told Fox News in an interview on Monday that he had informed Kyiv he wanted “$500 billion worth of rare earth [minerals].”

Ukrainian officials had “essentially agreed” to the proposal, he claimed.

“Ukraine has tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth [minerals], in terms of oil and gas, in terms of other things,” Trump said. “I want to have our money secured because we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars.”

He added: “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 are going to have all this money in there, and I say I want it back.”

Trump, who has repeatedly called for a swift resolution to the conflict but has offered few concrete proposals, had previously floated the idea of meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week.

His envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, announced he would discuss the administration’s vision for peace in Ukraine with allies at the Munich Security Conference from February 14-16.

Kellogg is then expected to visit Kyiv on February 20 for his long-anticipated first trip there, according to Ukrainian state media.