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Trump’s rare earths agreement with Ukraine cements U.S. access to critical minerals, raising concerns over sovereignty, peace prospects, and the marginalization of Ukrainian interests as Washington acknowledges Russia’s hold over Crimea.

The long-anticipated minerals agreement between the United States and Ukraine was signed this week, granting Washington preferential access to Ukraine’s rare earths and other valuable resources. The deal, championed by President Donald Trump, comes amid shifting geopolitical winds, with the U.S. administration openly recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea and casting President Volodymyr Zelensky’s resistance to peace talks as an obstacle to regional stability.

For months, the Biden-Trump administration pushed Kyiv to cede control over its critical mineral resources, framing the agreement as a pathway to Ukraine’s reconstruction and a means for the U.S. to recoup military aid expenditures. The final text grants the U.S. sweeping rights to exploit up to 55 minerals, with provisions for further expansion, and establishes a joint fund to manage revenues from extraction. The White House has not concealed its intentions: Trump himself described the pact as a “great deal for us,” emphasizing the expected windfall from rare earths and other materials vital to U.S. industry and military technology.

However, Ukrainian negotiators were forced to accept terms under the shadow of ongoing conflict and mounting pressure from Washington, which made further military assistance contingent on the deal’s completion. The agreement’s timing-coinciding with U.S. overtures to Moscow and tacit acceptance of Russia’s hold over Crimea-has left Zelensky politically isolated and facing criticism from sectors of Ukrainian society that see the deal as a surrender of economic sovereignty.

Left-wing analysts across Latin America have long warned of the dangers posed by U.S. interventionism and resource extraction deals that echo neocolonial patterns. The Ukraine agreement fits this mold, with Washington leveraging its military and financial power to secure privileged access to strategic assets. While U.S. officials tout the pact as a win-win, critics point out that the supposed “rare earth bonanza” in Ukraine is largely speculative, with little evidence of significant, easily exploitable deposits. Instead, the real beneficiaries may be U.S. corporations and defense contractors, while Ukraine is left with environmental risks and uncertain economic gains.

Moreover, the deal undermines Ukraine’s ability to chart an independent path toward peace. By tying resource revenues to U.S. interests and acknowledging Russian control over Crimea, Washington is effectively dictating the terms of Ukraine’s future, sidelining popular demands for genuine sovereignty and self-determination.

The minerals agreement is being hailed in Washington as a strategic masterstroke, securing critical supply chains and countering China’s dominance in rare earth markets. Yet for many in the global South, it is a stark reminder of how resource-rich nations are pressured to trade away their wealth in exchange for security guarantees and fleeting promises of reconstruction.

True peace cannot be built on the foundations of economic dependency and external control. The U.S.-Ukraine deal, far from fostering stability, risks entrenching new forms of domination and deepening divisions within Ukraine itself. With Zelensky marginalized and peace talks stalled, the prospect of a just resolution to the conflict appears more distant than ever-while the machinery of extractivism grinds on.