Donald Trump’s minerals deal with Volodymyr Zelensky risks undermining the UK’s own interests in exploring opportunities for Ukraine’s natural resources, the government has been warned.
In January, Sir Keir Starmer and President Zelensky signed a 100-year partnership for closer cooperation between their two countries on everything from defence and security to culture and sport.
That agreement included a clause on minerals, which proposed a joint working group to maximise the “benefits from Ukraine’s natural resources” as well as support the development of a Ukrainian “critical minerals strategy”.
But the US-Ukraine deal, which is expected to be approved when Zelensky visits Washington on Friday, is understood to give the US wide-ranging access to that country’s mineral riches in exchange for investment and rebuilding infrastructure after the war – fuelling fears that British interests could be squeezed out.
Pressure on governments to meet their net zero commitments, as well as increasing global insecurity, has led to a global scramble for natural resources used in both the green transition – such as batteries for EVs and solar panels – and the defence sector.
It is thought that Ukraine has around 5 per cent of the world’s critical raw materials, including graphite, titanium, lithium, beryllium, uranium, copper, lead, zinc, silver, nickel and cobalt, as well as rare earths used in wind turbines, weapons and electronics.
The possible clash of interests between the UK and US emerged as Trump hosted Starmer at the White House for crucial talks over Ukraine, trade and global security.
The Kyiv government has said half of the revenues from future state-owned natural resources projects will be funnelled into a joint reconstruction investment fund between the US and Ukraine.
When asked by The i Paper what impact the Trump-Zelensky deal would have on the UK’s own agreement on Ukraine’s minerals, the Foreign Office declined to say, stating that it wanted to support measures to bring the war to an end.
But it has emerged that Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke to Zelensky about minerals in talks in Kyiv last week – a sign that Starmer’s government is still keen to get access to Ukraine’s riches.
Labour MP Stella Creasy said: “Given the importance of our 100-year partnership with Ukraine to the security of our continent and the explicit commitment it contains to a critical minerals strategy, the Government must be clear whether our existing deal has been undermined by what is being agreed with America and how we will ensure these vital resources are not siphoned away at a cost to our national security.”
The 100-year partnership between London and Kyiv features nine pillars where both countries have agreed to closer cooperation: defence; security; maritime; economy and trade; energy and climate; justice; hostile state interference; science and tech; and culture and sport.
Under energy and climate, the UK and Ukraine agreed to support the “development of a Ukrainian critical minerals strategy and necessary regulatory structures required to support the maximisation of benefits from Ukraine’s natural resources, through the possible establishment of a Joint Working Group”.
The legally binding document is in effect for 100 years, but its provisions may be amended at any time if both sides agree, while any dispute on the interpretation of the agreement will be settled in consultation between both governments.
Either side can terminate the agreement with a written notice of six months.
In the House of Commons earlier this week, Lammy described the 100-year partnership as a “unique document, not only in our history and Ukraine’s history, but in the history of the world, and I believe it sets a pretty good guide for how to strike a relationship across many fronts”.
He said the relationship “will bring big wins for British businesses over the years ahead, but it will also bring big wins for Ukrainian businesses – we will learn from their innovation”.
The Foreign Office declined to comment on whether the US minerals deal would impact the UK’s prospects under the 100-year partnership.
They pointed out that Defence Secretary John Healey had welcomed the US minerals deal by saying that “anything that binds the US more closely into the future of Ukraine, that reinforces the President’s commitment to deliver a durable peace in which Russia can be deterred for the long term is a good step”.
The Foreign Office said discussions between the US and Ukraine were a matter for those governments and that all three countries wanted to see a “durable peace” and that the UK is supportive of “any development that helps deliver a secure, prosperous and stable future for Ukraine”.
Following reports that France is seeking a deal with Ukraine, Downing Street was asked whether the UK wanted to secure a similar agreement.
A spokesperson said: “In terms of the minerals, that’s obviously a matter for the US and Ukraine.”
The spokesperson said the 100-year partnership was “a unique document based on British business, British industry, defence capability, drone capability, people to people links over the course of the next century”.
“In the end, if US interests are on the ground in Ukraine then that is the best security guarantee that the Ukrainians can have,” they added.
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