Outrage as US claims half of Ukraine’s natural resources in leaked ‘economic colonisation’ bid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during his meeting with the German chancellor at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE/SVEN HOPPE / POOL

A leaked US government document outlining an agreement that Ukraine would hand over up to 50% of revenues from the extraction of its natural resources to Washington has sparked outrage in Kyiv, The Telegraph reported on Monday.

Amounting to a higher share of Ukraine’s GDP than the reparations for World War I imposed on Germany under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, the proposed deal, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly rejected last week, was described by The Telegraph as “the US economic colonisation of Ukraine”.

Under the proposed deal, Washington would be entitled to a share of revenues from Ukraine’s “mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports” and other infrastructure, as well as a share of revenues from “all new licenses issued to third parties” for the future monetisation of Ukrainian resources, and to “a lien on such resources” in favour of Washington — a clause that effectively means “pay us first, and then feed your children”, a source with knowledge of the deal told The Telegraph.

While the authenticity of the leaked document has not been confirmed by either Kyiv or Washington, an analysis of its metadata by Russian independent media outlet IStories revealed that it was created by Bradley Smith, the head of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Department of the Treasury, and had been saved by Mary Elizabeth Madden, an economic counselor at the US Embassy in Kyiv, suggesting that it’s genuine.

Zelensky, who earlier this month appeared in favour of exchanging Ukrainian natural resources for US military aid, likely “did not expect to be confronted with terms normally imposed on aggressor states defeated in war”, The Telegraph wrote.

Kyiv is now attempting to broker a better deal with Washington, a senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times on Saturday, amid concerns that the agreement did not provide Ukraine with any security guarantees from the US.

Last week, Trump doubled down on his demand that Kyiv supply the US with rare earth metals in return for its continued military support, by saying that he wanted a deal with Ukraine that would see the transfer of metals worth $500 billion to Washington.

Trump also claimed that the US had contributed “more than $300 billion” to Ukraine’s war effort, despite the US government’s own figures putting the total amount of aid provided by the US at $69.5 billion since 2022.