Ukraine has awarded development rights to one of its largest lithium deposits to a consortium that includes Ronald Lauder, a billionaire and long-time friend of US President Donald Trump, according to the New York Times.
Dobra lithium field goes to Trump-linked investors
NYT reports that a Ukrainian government commission selected a consortium to develop the Dobra lithium field in Kirovohrad Oblast on 8 January 2026.
Two commission members told the New York Times the decision is effectively final, though formal approval by the Cabinet of Ministers is still required. The officials said the winning bid met most technical criteria and outperformed rivals.
The consortium includes Ronald Lauder and TechMet, an energy investment firm partly owned by the US International Development Finance Corporation, a government agency created during Trump’s first term.
Ukraine describes the Dobra site in the Novoukrainskyi district of Kirovohrad Oblast as a 17.07 km² lithium ore deposit with a 50-year exploration and extraction license, requiring underground mining due to overburden up to 80 m and containing over 1.28 million tonnes of geologically categorized reserves, along with significant associated quantities of tantalum, niobium, rubidium, beryllium, tin, and cesium.
Why Lauder matters in this deal
Lauder is not only a billionaire cosmetics heir but also a close personal associate of Trump, whom he has known since college. The New York Times notes that Lauder previously planted the idea in Trump’s mind of buying resource-rich Greenland. Trump has since revived this concept, for which the White House said a US military option remains on the table, drawing a warning from Denmark’s Prime Minister that a US takeover could spell the end of NATO.
By awarding the Dobra project to investors with such direct ties to Trump, Kyiv appears to be positioning itself favorably with the US President as Trump-pushed peace negotiations with Russia remain under discussion, the publication says.
Business-first approach under Trump
Since Trump returned to office, the US-Ukraine relationship has taken on a distinctly mercantile character. Washington has halted most military assistance and shifted its focus toward investment opportunities and weapons sales. Ukrainian officials have adapted by offering access to mineral extraction and weapons production to US-linked businesses.
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This approach aligns with a broader US-Ukraine minerals agreement signed last spring, which created a joint investment fund for future natural resource projects. Under that deal, half of the Ukrainian Government’s revenue from the Dobra lithium field will be directed to the fund, a structure designed to favor American commercial interests.
What the Dobra field is and why it matters
The Dobra deposit, located in central Ukraine, is one of the country’s largest known lithium reserves. Lithium is a critical element for technologies such as electric vehicle batteries. The field will be developed under a production-sharing contract, allowing the consortium to extract lithium while sharing output with the Ukrainian state.
The tender required a minimum investment of $179 million, NYT said. A commission member said the consortium’s pledge exceeded that threshold, though the exact figure has not been disclosed.
Long-term project, potential conflicts
Mining at Dobra will not begin soon. The investors must first conduct detailed geological surveys and finance the extraction infrastructure. Industry specialists cited by the New York Times note that such projects often take about 15 years to reach production.
The arrangement also raises conflict-of-interest questions. The US agency overseeing the joint investment fund holds a stake in TechMet, which is now set to develop the lithium field. Ukrainian officials acknowledged the overlap but framed the project as part of a deliberate effort to demonstrate results under the minerals agreement.
