A file image of Russia-Ukraine war (Photo: 'X')
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 had marked an agonising three years for the former as Moscow unleashed all its military might in a bid to cow Kyiv into submission. The Ukrainians have paid a heavy price for not bowing down to Russia's bullying tactics and putting up fierce resistance with the help of the US and the European Union.
Within these three tortuous years, millions of them have been displaced from their home country, thousands have been killed and injured, entire cities have been razed to the ground, yet they have held on. But, with the reentry of Donald Trump into the White House, things appeared to be souring for the Ukrainians and their days seemed to be numbered.
Adopting Moscow's narrative as his own, the new US President astoundingly termed the Ukrainians as aggressors and stayed the generous assistance provided by the Biden administration, putting Kyiv in dire straits. The final nail in Ukraine's coffin seemed to have been the ugly spat that had taken place in the Oval Office between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. However, Kyiv did have an ace up its sleeve - its large re- serves of several valuable minerals, such as rare earth, titanium, lithium and graphite, which would be of enormous use to the US, but would fall into the hands of Russia if America stopped helping defend that nation.
Apparently, the bait has worked, and Trump has been enticed into signing the "mineral deal" which has the potential to be a game changer and lay the ground for a possible end to the Ukraine-Russia conflict! The final document signed between Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, despite having no mention of the security guarantees Kyiv wanted, heavily favours Ukraine, and is indeed a "historic economic partnership," which "signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term."
It may be recalled that Washington initially demanded a $500 billion share of Ukraine's minerals in exchange for the aid it has already provided, but the new agreement states instead that future American military assistance to Ukraine will count as part of the US investment into a joint reconstruction in- vestment fund that will be used to pour money into Ukraine's natural resources.
Though the deal gives the US preferential rights to mineral extraction in Ukraine, it simultaneously states that Kyiv will have the final say in what and where it is being mined. Without a doubt, this mineral deal will prove to be a saviour for beleaguered Ukraine, and despite Moscow putting up a brave front and reiterating that it will continue the conflict, the fact that America now has a commercial stake in Ukraine's future might nudge it towards peace.