Free Republic

Vladimir Putin is facing a fierce backlash from some of his most war-hungry supporters after publicly cosying up to Donald Trump. Russian warmongers are furious over Putin’s plan to seek US investment for rare earth metals and aluminium, with accusations he is giving away precious Russian assets. -snip- Staunch Russian war-backer Maksim Kalashnikov is outraged about Putin’s seeming lack of success in the war, as it plots the supply of rare metals to the West. ‘On the third anniversary of the war, they explained to us what victory would look like,” he said. ‘We get what we occupied – a...

President Trump told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday to sign a minerals deal. -snip- Ukrainian and U.S. officials said U.S. envoy Gen. Keith Kellogg played a key role in containing the crisis over the minerals deal and preventing it from turning into a deeper rift between Trump and Zelensky. "General Kellogg's meetings with Zelensky in Kyiv last Wednesday and Thursday were extremely important. Patient, persistent diplomacy can yield results," a U.S. official involved in the talks said.

Kyiv has agreed terms with Washington on a minerals deal that Ukrainian officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for a long-term US security commitment. Ukrainian officials say Kyiv is now ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500bn in potential revenue from exploiting the resources. Although the text lacks explicit security guarantees, the officials argued that they had negotiated far more favourable terms and depicted the deal as a way of broadening the relationship with the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is open to offering the US access to rare minerals, including from Russian-occupied Ukraine. This comes after US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed for Ukraine to give up some of its minerals in exchange for support, in a deal which is currently being finalised, according to a Ukrainian minister. In a state TV interview on Monday, Putin said he was ready to "offer" resources to American partners in joint projects, including mining in Russia's "new territories" - a reference to parts of eastern Ukraine that Russia has occupied since launching a full-scale invasion...