US pushes for more expansive minerals deal with Ukraine
The US is reportedly pushing for a more expansive minerals deal with Ukraine.
That’s according to three people familiar with the ongoing negotiations, who have spoken to the news agency, Reuters.
A deal on Ukraine’s critical minerals has emerged as an apparently key stepping stone towards peace since Donald Trump began his second term in the White House.
Source: Institute for the Study of War/Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine
The US president has said he wants to claw back some of the money his country has spent helping Ukraine after Russia invaded it in February 2022.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington previously to sign a critical minerals deal, but was told to leave the White House after a row erupted with the president and vice president in front of the world’s media.
On Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy said the US was “constantly” changing the terms of the proposed deal, but he added he did not want Washington to think Kyiv was against it.
Earlier in the week, he said the US had proposed a “major” new deal, and his officials were still reviewing it.
The new proposal is still said to include no security guarantee – something Kyiv has said is vital to ensure a stable peace.
The new terms go well beyond the deal discussed previously, with treasury secretary Scott Bessent said to be leading negotiations.
Trump has claimed the minerals deal will help secure a peace agreement by giving the US a financial stake in Ukraine, therefore discouraging future Russian aggression.
Despite Mr Trump having recently spoken about it, the proposal was said to make no mention of the US taking ownership over Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt declined to confirm the terms of the latest proposal, but said: “The mineral deal offers Ukraine the opportunity to form an enduring economic relationship with the United States that is the basis for long-term security and peace.”
An earlier version of the deal suggested a joint investment fund, where Ukraine would contribute 50% of the proceeds from future profits of the extraction of the state-owned resources.
The new proposal says that the US is given first rights to buy resources extracted under the agreement and that it will recoup all the money it has given Ukraine since 2022, in addition to 4% annual interest, all before Ukraine begins to gain access to the fund’s profits.
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The new proposal was first reported by the Financial Times.
It comes as developments are moving quickly elsewhere in regards to news around the war in Ukraine.
Here is some of the other latest news:
• Russia and Ukraine both this week agreed to a US-organised Black Sea ceasefire;
• France’s Emmanuel Macron announced plans for an Anglo-French “reassurance” force in Ukraine;
• Vladimir Putin warned the US was “serious” about its intentions over Greenland;
• Fighting between the two sides continues.
Donald Trump has waded into the debate surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad.
The American Eagle ad, which features the 27-year-old actress, who starred in the HBO series Euphoria and White Lotus, has the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”.
It has sparked a debate in the US over race and Western beauty standards.
One of the Sydney Sweeney jeans ads. Pic: AP
In a Truth Social post, the US president described it as the “hottest ad out there”.
Hailing Sweeney as a “registered Republican”, he said the jeans are “flying off the shelves”, adding: “Go get ’em Sydney!”
Most of the criticism of the ad has centred on videos using the word “genes” instead of “jeans”, with one in which Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”
Critics argued the play on words potentially promotes eugenics, a discredited theory that believed humanity could be improved through the selective breeding of certain traits.
But others have defended the ad, saying the critics are reading too much into its message.
The video appeared on American Eagle’s Facebook page and other social media channels, but is not part of the ad campaign.
In a statement on Instagram on Friday, American Eagle Outfitters said the campaign “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Stocks in American Eagle Outfitters jumped by 23.3% after Mr Trump’s intervention.
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In his Truth Social post, which he reposted three times to fix various typos, Mr Trump compared the ad with “woke” ones “on the other side of the ledger” – as he criticised other companies, as well as hitting out at Taylor Swift.
“The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be,” he wrote.
Sky News has contacted Sweeney’s agent for comment.
Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.
Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.
After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.
Kevin Wade O’Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.
Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.
Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.
He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.
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O’Neal is being held at the Polk County jail and his bond is yet to be determined.
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