What critical materials and minerals does Ukraine have and why is Trump eyeing them?

05.03.2025 - 08:33 / euronews.com / Donald Trump / Volodymyr Zelenskyy

A deal on US access to Ukraine’s coveted minerals and rare earths is still on the cards, both Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week, despite the continued deterioration in the US-Ukraine relationship.

The signing of the agreement - for which the framework has already been agreed - was scuppered by the fiery confrontation between Trump and Zelenskyy last Friday. The US has since temporarily paused its military aid to Ukraine.

But Kyiv hopes the prospect of privileged US access to Ukraine’s natural resources could help persuade Trump to commit to long-term security guarantees.

Trump has previously said the deal would allow the US to recuperate the financial assistance it has given Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. He puts this figure at $350 billion, while just $83.4 billion has in fact been disbursed since 2022 according to US government records.

Euroverify breaks down what critical materials and minerals Ukraine has and why Trump could still seek access to them.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates there are 20,000 mineral deposits covering 116 types in Ukraine, 3,055 (15%) of which were active before Russia’s invasion in 2022. 

According to Ukraine’s economic ministry, these include 22 of the 34 raw materials listed as "critical" under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), a 2024 bill aimed at minimising the bloc’s reliance on geo-strategic rivals such as China for the materials needed to produce electric vehicles, solar panels, microchips and other strategic technologies.

Ukraine has an estimated 500,000 tons of untapped lithium, essential for the production of rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs). This equates to around a third of Europe’s and 3% of the world’s reserves. 

Two major sites, Shevchenko Deposit (Donetsk) and Kruta Balka (Zaporizhzhia), are currently located in occupied or conflict areas.

Ukraine also accounts for 6% of global production of Titanium, according to the Kyiv School of Economics, used in aerospace, military, and medical applications, and is the world’s 5th largest gallium producer, essential for semiconductors.

It is among the world’s five leading countries in terms of graphite reserves, also essential for the production of EV batteries, and features among the top ten counties worldwide for reserves of carbon, manganese, iron, titanium and uranium.

As well as these raw materials, Ukraine’s territory is believed to hold significant reserves of rare earths, a group of 17 metallic elements also used in high-tech devices such as smartphones, wind turbines and MRIs.

While the extent of its rare earth deposits is confidential, they are estimated to account for 5% of global reserves, according to the UN.

Ukrainian