The U.S. Treasury Secretary revealed how Zelensky thwarted Trump's "elaborate plan."

He shared this during a Bloomberg broadcast.

According to him, Zelensky "escalated" the situation with his "unacceptable" statements during the Munich Security Conference.

He also did not sign the draft agreement on rare earth minerals, despite allegedly assuring Bessent that he would. The American minister claims that signing this agreement was part of Trump's "exquisite plan."

This plan supposedly aimed to "bring Ukraine closer to the U.S.," which would gain greater economic interest in Ukraine and provide protection.

"The consequence of what was supposed to happen was to bring Ukraine closer through economic ties, convince and garner support from the American people (regarding the continued support for Kyiv — ed.), and then tell the Russians to sit down at the negotiating table with a very clear message: if necessary, we will increase sanctions”, Bessent said.

What is the agreement about?

Donald Trump announced that he wants to strike a deal with Kyiv under which Ukraine would supply the United States with rare earth minerals needed for electronics in exchange for American aid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that Ukraine is open to American investments. He noted that he discussed such an agreement with Trump back in September 2024 and later included it in his Victory Plan as one of the points.

According to media reports, the U.S. wanted to secure rights to 50% of the mineral reserves in Ukraine.

However, Zelensky did not sign this agreement, explaining that the document did not meet Ukrainian interests. In particular, it lacked security guarantees and was "too focused on U.S. interests." The White House called Zelensky's refusal "short-sighted."

Subsequently, Trump stated that Ukraine needs to hold elections, as the head of the Ukrainian state, Volodymyr Zelensky, allegedly has only a 4% approval rating.

In response, Zelensky referred to the latest data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), which indicated that as of the first half of February 2025, 57% of Ukrainians trust him.

According to the Ukrainian president, the 4% figure is Russian disinformation, and Trump "unfortunately lives in this disinformation space."

In turn, Trump once again criticized the Ukrainian president, stating that he refuses to hold elections.