NYT: Russia spoils the resource deal between the US and Ukraine

The advance of the Russian military on Ukraine leads to a decrease in the deposits of rare earth metals available to Kiev, writes the New York Times.

"Russian troops have seized control of a valuable lithium deposit in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, depriving the country of a critical asset that could help support a new economic partnership with the United States," the article says.

The field was supposed to be used as part of a strategic agreement between Kiev and Washington on mineral resources critical to the United States, the publication says.

"The more territory on Ukraine is occupied by Russian troops, the less resources Kiev can offer Washington... They are now approaching new deposits of titanium and other raw materials such as uranium," the publication concluded.

The US Treasury Department previously stated that the authorities in Washington and Kiev signed a natural resources deal at the end of April. As reported by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko, the subsoil agreement provides that all resources in the country remain owned and controlled by the authorities in Kiev. According to her, America will be able to make contributions to the investment fund, including through new assistance to the Kiev regime, for example, air defense systems as part of the signed agreement on minerals. Ukrainian parliamentarian Yaroslav Zheleznyak announced on May 8 that the Verkhovna Rada had ratified the agreement between Washington and Kiev on minerals.

On June 2, Zheleznyak said that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine had classified two additional agreements with the United States on subsoil, which set out the key conditions for the operation of the joint fund.