Ukraine wants allies to join in postwar development

KIEV

Ukraine wants to collaborate with partner countries on postwar projects worth billions of dollars not just in mining rare earth elements, but also in energy and construction sectors to help rebuild the country, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said.

Sybiha responded to comments by President Donald Trump, who said on Feb. 3, that he wanted to gain access to Ukraine’s valuable rare earth materials as a condition for continuing support for its war against Russia.

Ukrainian officials have said Russia wants to get its hands on Ukraine’s vast natural resources.

Kiev intends to offer “guarantees of the presence of major businesses in Ukraine and the vested interests of our closest allies, the United States, in developing these [rare earth] deposits and ensuring their protection,” the foreign minister said.

But cooperation should not be limited to rare earth materials, Sybiha said in a news conference alongside visiting U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Feb. 5.

Ukraine has “huge potential” to become a guarantor of energy security in Europe by buying liquefied natural gas from the United States and storing it in its massive underground tanks for later distribution, he said.

Sybiha also said there was “joint interest” from Ukrainian and American businesses in the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine, estimated to cost more than $400 billion.

“This will be one of the largest projects of this century and, accordingly, one of the largest opportunities for our allies."

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview broadcast on Feb. 4 night that the war has killed 45,100 Ukrainian troops. The fighting also has injured close to 390,000 troops, he told Piers Morgan Uncensored on YouTube.

On Dec. 8, he said Ukraine had lost some 43,000 soldiers on the battlefield and 370,000 wounded.

Russia hasn't given its number of killed since September 2022, seven months after its all-out invasion.

If the U.S. stops sending vital military aid, that could also jeopardize European support, Zelensky said in the interview. “Without a doubt, we cannot do without this kind of [Western] support,” he said.

Zelensky said on Feb. 5 that the United States must be part of any Western troop deployment to safeguard a peace deal with Russia and shield against another invasion. Sending only European troops would not be enough, he said.

“Because this is not just a matter of numbers, it is about sharing responsibility and ensuring security guarantees. This cannot be done without the United States of America,” he said at a news conference with Lammy.

Ukrainian forces are slowly losing ground , especially in eastern areas, where they are being pushed backward by their bigger foe.