Washington and Kyiv appear closer than ever to a deal that would allow American access to Ukraine's untapped mineral riches.
But a senior U.S. official says the proposed deal between makes zero promises about security for Ukraine, because it's not clear exactly how much mineral wealth Ukraine actually possesses, or whether it's even worth exploring.
CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh visits a struggling titanium mine in Irshansk, Ukraine, to explore the uncertainty that lingers over Ukraine’s mineral wealth.
The mining of titanium has a greater urgency than ever in Irshansk.
The electricity that powers the vast machines is only sometimes on for three hours a day. But resources like titanium are potentially key to the moonshot rare earth minerals deal that is suddenly the focus of talking peace in Ukraine. The deal’s signatories, the United States and Ukraine, appear to have opposing interpretations of its terms, which leave many thorny details for a later discussion.
Some current and former US officials have cast doubt on President Donald Trump’s claim that the potential deal he is on the verge of signing with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky would offer the US easy access to a plethora of rare earth minerals.
Much of what does exist will be difficult to exploit, particularly at a time of war.
And from this beleaguered mine in the northwestern town of Irshansk, it is hard to see how Ukraine could, in this lifetime, get to the half a trillion dollars Trump has suggested they might repay.
“Now we don’t know what and how our work will go on even tomorrow”, said Dmytro Holik, director of mining and concentrating plant at Ukrainian conglomerate Group DF.
“Every day we see how Ukraine’s energy system is being destroyed. Every day, entire regions are cut off in an emergency,” he added, a reference to the waves of drones and missiles Russia pounds Ukrainian homes and energy infrastructure with each night.
The plant’s staff are mostly men, kept away from conscription as titanium is considered a critical industry. Profits are low, prospects dim. “Our enterprise is now very unstable, and this leads to a very high cost of our products,” Holik said.
The proposed minerals bonanza now at the heart of continued US aid to Ukraine in the largest war in Europe since the 1940s, seems to speak to a fantastical future world of prosperity.
Trump on Thursday held out the possibility of American personnel in Ukraine working to extract minerals once a mineral resources deal - and peace - was in effect.
“When you talk about economic development, we’re going to have a lot of people over there,” he said. “So we’ll be working in the country. So I just don’t think you’re going to have a problem.”
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