Trump accused Ukraine of backing out of a rare earth metals agreement and stated his intention to restore it.

This is reported by CNN.

“Scott Bessent actually went there, and he was treated quite rudely because, essentially, they told him ‘no,’ while Zelensky was asleep and couldn’t meet with him,” Trump stated.

He added that his minister traveled to Kyiv for many hours by train, which is a “dangerous trip.” “He went there to sign a document, but when he arrived, he came back empty-handed. They didn’t sign the document,” the Republican emphasized.

The American president further noted that meanwhile, Europe is “getting its money back,” as the assistance provided is a loan.

When asked if he could revive the deal, Trump replied: “Yes, I think I will revive that agreement; you know, we will see what happens, but I will restore it, otherwise it won’t make him (Vladimir Zelensky — ed.) very happy. And look, it’s election time.”

Trump again suggested that American aid is supposedly unaccounted for and wanted to know what specific amount Ukraine received.

At the same time, he positively commented on negotiations with Russia, noting that “everything is good.” “We will do with Russia what he couldn’t. We could reach an agreement with Russia to stop the potential killing of additional millions of people,” added the U.S. president.

What preceded this?

Donald Trump announced that he wants to make a deal with Kyiv, whereby 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 items.

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 align with Ukrainian interests. In particular, it did not contain 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, supposedly has only a 4% approval rating.

In response, Zelensky referenced the latest survey 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.

In the opinion of the Ukrainian president, the data showing 4% 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.