Why does Putin think he has control over UKRANIAN minerals so much so that he can OFFER them to a foreign country?
Well...
Over ten years ago Ukraine was offering access to the minerals to the USA, Europe, China and Russia. The EU wanted a trade deal. US companies started sniffing at the opportunity.
Everyone could’ve benefited - Ukraine and USA and Russia included - without a single shot being fired.
The only party greedy enough to want the whole enchilada for itself was Russia. They tried blackmailing Eastern Europe by turning the gas off, shot down a plane full of Polish dignitaries, flooded the Donbas with RF troops masquerading as secessionist locals,
If you ever want to know how utterly spectacularly retarded the Let’s Rehabilitate Russia camp is... Consider this.
They are literally salivating at the opportunity of getting some crumbs off Putin’s plate of borscht and stale bread (at the price of putting all of Eastern Europe at risk from Russian aggression while pissing off every major USA peacetime ally on the planet)...
when the deals preceding President Trump’s first term were far less problematic.
There was only one country on this planet selling the narrative that letting anybody other than Putler control Ukrainian minerals on Ukrainian land would lead to World War 3. It’s Russia.
It’s literally on the level of having the Mafia sell you stuff at $100 a pop after stealing it from the guy who was happy to sell it at $50 a pop... And convincing you they’re giving you a great deal because the other guy’s a pedo. With a side order of “buy only from us or we’ll shoot someone else’s kneecaps off.”
But tragically, the pro Russian team can’t see the irrationality of their own position.