Morning Jolt: There’s Less Than Meets the Eye in the Ukraine Mineral Deal

WITH JIM GERAGHTY

February 26 2025

There's Less Than Meets the Eye in the Ukraine Mineral Deal

On the menu today: According to press reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sign the mineral rights deal — but there are reasons to think this deal might amount to less than meets the eye. Meanwhile, in the river city of Dnipro, I meet an extraordinary American who's helping the Ukrainians stop the bleeding, figuratively and literally.

When It Comes to Rare Earths in Ukraine, Don't Count Your Chickens
According to the Financial Times and other reports, Zelensky has agreed to terms on the mineral rights deal that President Trump insisted he sign. Zelensky will reportedly travel to Washington later this week.

If I were trying to persuade Trump that Ukraine is worth defending, I would point to all that untapped wealth and attempt to get Trump to see Ukrainian land as America's, or as his.

But those mineral resources are not going to be easy to obtain. For starters, two of the six rare earth deposits in Ukraine are underneath land that is currently occupied by Russian forces. And Putin has made his own offer, ...