WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Tuesday he will soon dispatch Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine as the US attempts to secure a critical mineral deal in exchange for supplying aid in the country’s ongoing war with Russia.
“I am sending Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This War MUST and WILL END SOON — Too much Death and Destruction. The U.S. has spent BILLIONS of Dollars Globally, with little to show. WHEN AMERICA IS STRONG, THE WORLD IS AT PEACE.”
Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, told The Post last week that the president was having the Treasury look into how they could secure a deal to get billions of rare-earth minerals to the US.
“You can come up with a deal, and that’s what [Trump] has the Treasury looking at: ‘OK, how do you make a deal where aid is predicated off of the payback [of] precious metals?’” Kellogg said at the time.
Ukraine is one of Europe’s largest supplier of rare-earth minerals, with rich deposits of metals including lithium, titanium, uranium and iron.
Zelensky has indicated he would be interested in discussing a deal dealing with supplying rare-earth minerals, while Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier over the weekend that Ukraine “essentially agreed” to provide rare-earth minerals in exchange for continued American support.
Trump has vowed to end Russia’s war on Ukraine and to hold negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring that about.
The president revealed to The Post over the weekend that he has had a phone conversation with Putin, but did not disclose how soon Russia-Ukraine talks are expected to take place.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to meet with Zelensky on the sidelines of this weekend’s Munich Security Conference in Germany, which Kellogg is also scheduled to attend.
