The Telegraph has obtained a confidential draft contract revealing Donald Trump’s demands for a $500 billion “payback” from Ukraine for the previous US aid amid the ongoing Russian invasion. The contract implied establishing US economic control over the country’s resources in perpetuity. As we reported earlier, Ukraine had rejected Trump’s proposal.
The pre-decisional contract, marked “Privileged & Confidential” and dated 7 February 2025, landed at Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office a week ago, The Telegraph reports.
According to the document, the US and Ukraine would form a joint investment fund ensuring “hostile parties to the conflict do not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.” The agreement covers the “economic value associated with resources of Ukraine,” including “mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports, other infrastructure (as agreed).“
The contract stipulates that “this agreement shall be governed by New York law, without regard to conflict of laws principles,” Telegraph reports.
Under the terms, the US would take 50% of recurring revenues received by Ukraine from resource extraction and 50% of the financial value of “all new licenses issued to third parties” for future resource monetization. The contract establishes “a lien on such revenues” in favor of the US.
“That clause means ‘pay us first, and then feed your children,’” one source close to the negotiations told Telegraph.
The draft further states that “for all future licenses, the US will have a right of first refusal for the purchase of exportable minerals.” Washington would acquire near-total control over most of Ukraine’s commodity and resource economy, with the fund having “the exclusive right to establish the method, selection criteria, terms, and conditions” of all future licenses and projects.
Telegraph says the document appears to have been written by private lawyers, not the US departments of state or commerce.
President Zelenskyy himself proposed giving the US a stake in Ukraine’s rare earth elements and critical minerals during a visit to Trump Tower in September, hoping to secure continued arms deliveries.
However, Telegraph reports Zelenskyy likely did not expect terms normally imposed on defeated aggressor states, which exceed financial penalties imposed on Germany and Japan after 1945.
A new Versailles
If accepted, Trump’s demands would claim “a higher share of Ukrainian GDP than reparations imposed on Germany at the Versailles Treaty, later whittled down at the London Conference in 1921, and by the Dawes Plan in 1924. At the same time, he seems willing to let Russia off the hook entirely,” The Telegraph says.
Donald Trump told Fox News that Ukraine had “essentially agreed” to the $500 billion arrangement. He warned Ukraine would face Russian control if it rejected the terms:
“They may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday. But I want this money back,” Trump threatened.
The American President claimed the US had allegedly spent $300 billion on the war, saying it would be “stupid” to provide more aid. The Telegraph notes that the five congressional packages actually total $175 billion, with $70 billion spent in the US on weapons production. While some funding was humanitarian grants, much was lend-lease money requiring repayment, The Telegraph stated.
Impossible demands
Ukraine cannot realistically meet the $500 billion demand within any reasonable timeframe, The Telegraph argues, questioning whether it is appropriate to treat a nation that has defended democracies for three years at great sacrifice.
The Telegraph characterizes Trump’s demand as “iron-fist coercion by a neo-imperial power against a weaker nation with its back to the wall, and all for a commodity bonanza that exists chiefly in Trump’s head.”
Related:
- NATO chief: Europe ready to step up to lead Ukraine security guarantees
- Ceasefire without security guarantees will fail like Minsk agreements, Macron warns
- Trump open to allow Europe to buy US-made weapons for Ukraine
- Ukraine rejects US proposal demanding half of its mineral resources
- Trump’s neo-Morgenthau plan for Ukraine is a threat to free Europe
- Trump claims Ukraine “essentially agreed” to give US access to its rare earth minerals
- Expert: Here’s how Ukraine could capitalize on its rare earth materials
- Trump wants Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued aid
