The US agreement with Kiev is worse than reparations imposed on Germany — Telegraph

The agreement on compensation for US assistance in the Ukrainian conflict, which Washington proposed to Kiev, includes not only control over the country's critical minerals, it covers everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas, as well as the country's larger resource base. It is reported by The Telegraph with reference to the draft preliminary agreement.

According to the publication, it says that the United States and Ukraine should form a joint investment fund to ensure that "hostile parties to the conflict will not benefit from the restoration of Ukraine."

The United States requires 50% of the current revenues received by Ukraine from resource extraction and 50% of the financial value of "all new licenses issued to third parties" for future monetization of resources. There will be a "pledge for such income" in favor of the United States.

"This clause means 'pay us first, and then feed your children,'" a source close to the negotiations told the newspaper, quoted by the Strana newspaper.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself proposed the idea of providing the United States with a direct stake "in Ukrainian rare earth elements and essential minerals," but "did not expect to face the conditions that are usually imposed on aggressor states defeated in war," writes The Telegraph.

"They are worse than the financial sanctions imposed on Germany and Japan after their defeat in 1945... If this project had been adopted, Trump's demands would have accounted for a larger share of Ukraine's GDP than the reparations imposed on Germany under the Versailles Treaty," the newspaper notes.

As reported by EADaily, Kiev was shocked by the scale of US demands for Ukraine's minerals, Washington's proposals were rejected by the Ukrainian authorities. This was reported by the Washington Post.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected a request from the Donald Trump administration that Kiev hand over 50% of its mineral resources — an emergency requirement that could significantly dwarf the cost of aid that was sent by the United States to Kiev, the newspaper wrote.