US President Donald Trump has proposed a deal with Ukraine that would exchange American military and financial aid for supplies of Ukrainian rare earth metals. “We’re going to make a deal with Ukraine where they get what we give them in exchange for rare earths and other goods,” Trump said, emphasizing that the US is investing hundreds of billions of dollars and Ukraine has “wonderful rare earths.”

In response, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Trump's proposal, calling it "very selfish and egocentric." Scholz noted that Ukraine's resources should be used to finance the country's reconstruction after the conflict, given the scale of the destruction.

"We should be using these country's resources to finance everything that will be needed after the conflict.", - he stressed.

Ukraine has significant reserves of rare earth metals, including lithium, titanium and other critical minerals that are in demand in high-tech industries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously unveiled a “victory plan” to cooperate with the United States in developing these resources in exchange for support. However, many of these deposits are located in Russian-controlled territory, making them difficult to exploit.

Trump's proposal has sparked debate among Ukraine's Western allies, with some backing the idea of ​​mutually beneficial cooperation, while others believe such deals could undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and its ability to recover from the conflict on its own.