The White House spokesperson on Saturday said that US President Donald Trump believes he could end Russia’s war against Ukraine as early as next week by “striking a deal” with the Kremlin while leveraging mineral rights deal for US “ventures” in Ukraine, according to reports.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt suggested Trump could negotiate a deal to end the “three-year-long conflict” as early as “this week.” While Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, marks the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Russia began the war 11 years ago by illegally annexing Crimea.
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“The president, his team are very much focused on continuing negotiations with both sides of this war to end the conflict and the president is very confident we can get it done this week,” Leavitt told reporters on the South Lawn after returning from the Conservative Political Action Conference, according to a report in the Hill.
According to the report, Trump suggested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “has no cards” and should sit out conversations with international leaders involving peace negotiations going forward.
The White House seems to be centering its negotiations around leveraging mineral rights in efforts to expedite the process, while threatening to cut off access to Starlink satellite service that is critical on the battlefield.
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According to the report, “Leavitt mentioned that National Security Advisor Matt Waltz would be working ‘around the clock’ this weekend on a deal and shared that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been involved in discussions surrounding a proposed deal with the Ukrainians to harness raw minerals.”
Leavitt implied that Trump wants Ukraine to pay back the US for wartime military assistance by sharing access to its natural resources: “When it comes to the critical minerals, this is an important piece for the president. It’s very important for the president, because it will recoup American tax dollars.”
“And it also will be a great economic partnership between the United States of America and for the Ukrainian people as well as they rebuild their country following this brutal war.”
The US State Department seems to indicate the Trump administration now understands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky must seek approval of the Ukrainian people via members of the Verkhovna Rada and cannot single-handedly sign a long-term deal surrendering billions or trillions of dollars in rights to his nation’s natural resources.
According to the report, State Secretary Marco Rubio “proclaimed the venture would yield $200 million in funds and add a ‘vested’ security interest in Ukraine pending legislative approval. The State Department said the US has provided $65.9 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war.”
On Wednesday, Trump in a long ranting post in which he called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” claimed erroneously that the US aid to Ukraine was $350 billion.
According to other sources, the White House threatened to cut off access to Space X’s Starlink satellite communications systems used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) if Ukraine did not sign a deal giving mineral rights to the United States, as reported by Kyiv Post. Starlink is a critical system used extensively by the AFU to conduct defensive operations in defending against Russia’s invading forces.
Space X is owned and operated by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, Trump’s special adviser, and largest campaign donor, having given $270 million to Trump help the president in his re-election bid.
There has been no explanation of how US taxpayers would receive the profit from US companies partnering in the deal that would “recoup American tax dollars.” Revenue amounts for the mineral rights have been discussed ranging from $500 billion to 50% of several trillion dollars.
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