Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected a proposal from the Trump administration that involved trading Ukraine’s mineral resources for security assurances. The proposal, presented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, was intended to offer long-term security guarantees against Russian aggression and defray the cost to the U.S. of arming, funding, and training the Ukrainian military since 2022, as well as paying Ukrainian government workers’ salaries and subsidizing Ukrainian agriculture and businesses.
Sources present at a meeting between Zelensky and Bessent in Kiev say the Ukrainian leader was “very angry” at the prospect of refunding American taxpayers for their assistance and could be heard shouting at the U.S. Treasury Secretary through the heavy doors of his presidential office.
According to the Financial Times, Zelensky’s own team says he is “thin-skinned and can react poorly to criticism,” with a former senior official saying he has “allowed his emotions to make his decisions” at times.
Subsequently, Zelensky issued a public statement saying he would not “sell” Ukraine, apparently in reference to the proposed minerals deal. However, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who held talks with Zelensky after Bessent in Munich, Germany, say the Ukrainian was amenable to a minerals deal during their discussions, only to turn on the U.S. in comments to the press afterward.
Vice President Vance has warned that undermining President Donald J. Trump and his administration in the court of public opinion, as Zelensky appears to be attempting, will prove counterproductive with the America First leader.
“Zelensky is getting really bad advice, and I don’t know from whom,” the Vice President told Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, in an exclusive interview. “He’s not dealing with Joe Biden and the Biden administration anymore. He’s dealing with Donald Trump and the Trump administration.” Vance added, branding Zelensky’s attacks on Trump “disgraceful.”