this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2025
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Summary

Ukraine is hesitating to sign a U.S.-backed deal that would grant American companies access to 50% of its rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military support.

President Zelenskyy cited legal concerns and the lack of security guarantees.

The deal, pushed by Trump allies, aims to showcase Ukraine’s value to U.S. interests while reducing reliance on Chinese minerals.

However, Kyiv’s 2021 strategic partnership with the EU complicates negotiations, as European leaders resist surrendering shared resources to Washington. Talks remain ongoing.

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[–] [email protected] 118 points 1 week ago (9 children)

The audacity to frame resource extraction as "aid" would be impressive if it weren't so transparent. Ukraine's rare earth minerals aren't collateral for loans—they’re the spoils of geopolitical brinkmanship, dressed in the rotting corpse of diplomacy.

Trump’s team operates like feudal overlords, demanding tribute from a nation under siege. Those minerals power everything from missiles to smartphones. Calling this a "reimbursement" is like mugging a drowning man and calling it debt collection.

Now they’re floating troop deployments to "guard" these assets? Please. This isn’t peacekeeping—it’s a protection racket, ensuring the extraction pipeline stays open while the propaganda machine spins conquest as charity.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I figured it was more like the tributary system in imperial China

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

China usually gave gifts back to those states which was much more valuable than the tribute itself. Koreans were famously abusing it by sending tribute multiple times a year. China had to put a limit on them because it became a problem.

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