The Ministry of Economy said how much Ukrainian minerals in the temporarily occupied territories are worth

The value of minerals in Ukraineʼs territories temporarily occupied (TOT) by Russia reaches $350 billion. But geological research still needs to be conducted to know the full extent of what Ukraine has.

This was reported by the Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko during the forum "Ukraine. Year 2025".

According to her, Ukraine has significant deposits of lithium, titanium, and uranium. And the aggressor is currently using these resources, including in the fight. For example, for the aviation industry.

In the context of the agreement with the US on rare earth minerals, she emphasized that attracting investment, processing and development of deposits, and not just exports, are important for Ukraine.

"First, there needs to be an agreement on minerals, and then they will decide who will sign it," said the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, when asked who will sign the agreement on minerals with the United States.

What kind of agreement on Ukrainian minerals?

The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought a pilot draft of a minerals agreement to Ukraine on February 12. Washington had hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. President Zelensky said that he had banned the agreement from being signed because it would not protect Ukraine’s interests — it had no connection to investments, profits, or security guarantees.

Previously, Trump had stated that Ukraine had "essentially agreed" to transfer half a trillion dollars worth of rare earth metals to Washington as payment for American military aid.

Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement on rare earth metals, but Kyiv needs security guarantees, and they were not in the agreement. Zelensky added: "The document was clear in only one thing — we must give 50% of everything that is listed there."

After refusing to sign the document, Washington made the agreement even tougher, writes the NYT. Now the US demands 100% of revenues from natural resources, including minerals, gas and oil, as well as revenues from ports and other infrastructure.

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