US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he is open to supplying Ukraine with more weapons in exchange for access to the country's mineral resources. But putting the plan into practice may not be so easy. About this reported the The Wall Street Journal.
As the publication notes, many of the minerals of greatest interest to the United States are located in areas occupied by Russia or those under threat of Moscow's offensive.
“As a result, access to Ukraine’s valuable natural resources will depend, at least in part, on the battle for eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces are currently advancing slowly but surely,” — goes in the article.
Although rare earth deposits have been discovered in several parts of Ukraine, the largest known deposit is located in the territory near the front line in eastern Ukraine, writes WSJ.
Experts have expressed skepticism that some of Ukraine's minerals, including rare earth metals, can be mined anytime in the near future.
“The biggest flaw in this plan is that most of the stockpiles are located in areas of Ukraine that are under Russian control or very close to the front line, meaning no one will be able to extract and process the materials. These assets will be difficult to access without a lasting peace in Ukraine. A ceasefire is not enough,” — says Wolf-Christian Paes from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In addition, rare earth metals are very expensive to extract, and known deposits in Ukraine are much smaller than in the United States, added George Ingall, a price analyst at Benchmark Minerals Intelligence.
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