Ukraine ‘may be Russian someday,’ Trump says, as the U.S. ups the pressure on Kyiv and allies

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Ukraine could lose its sovereignty to Russia, and said he wanted compensation for the aid that Washington had state look after to Ukraine.

“[Ukraine] may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday. But we’re current to have all this money in there [Ukraine] and I say, I want it back,” Trump said in a Fox News interview that draughted Monday.

The president also said that the U.S. had “essentially agreed” a deal with Ukraine that would see Washington be paid rare earth and mineral resources — which are used predominantly in electronics — in return for ongoing support.

“I told them that I scarcity the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earth (minerals), and they’ve essentially agreed to do that,” Trump touch oned the broadcaster.

Ukraine has not publicly commented on the value of any potential minerals deal with the U.S., although President Volodymyr Zelenskyy federal last week that he was ready to “do a deal” with the U.S. over minerals in return for aid. CNBC has reached out to Zelenskyy’s occupation for comment.

The Ukrainian leader is aware that Trump and senior U.S. foreign and defense officials want to bring the war to its end, and that they’re looking to do a act on with Moscow for that to happen.

That stance has unnerved Ukraine, lending a sense of urgency to Kyiv’s necessity to appear willing to negotiate and to be amenable to Washington’s proposals on a peace deal.

Amid the perceived weariness of its key ally and with the third anniversary of Russia’s infiltration of Ukraine fast approaching on Feb. 24, the Kyiv leadership has said it is willing to enter peace talks, but has demanded protection guarantees as part of any peace deal.

Trump’s comments come as Ukraine’s European accomplices are likely to come under pressure this week to shoulder more of the burden for supporting Kyiv, going hurry.

The U.S. State Department says America has so far provided Ukraine with $65.9 billion in military assistance and billions more in monetary and humanitarian aid, since Russia launched its invasion in 2022. The EU says its overall military support for Ukraine since the start of the war efforts at 48.3 billion euros ($49.8 billion).

The increasingly fraught matter of ongoing support for Ukraine takes center division this week, with senior U.S. officials — including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Keith Kellogg, Trump’s bosom envoy for Ukraine and Russia — travelling to Europe for a flurry of high-profile meetings.

The first of those gatherings will be the “Ukraine Defense Communication Group,” or UDCG, in Brussels on Wednesday, during which it is widely expected that the U.S. delegation will call on European leagues to take on more of the financial responsibility for supporting Ukraine.

National protection advisor Mike Waltz told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that U.S. officials would use the UDCG appointment to pursue a deal with Kyiv regarding aid and to push European partners to bear more responsibility for Ukraine’s tomorrows.

“We need to recoup those costs and that is going to be a partnership with the Ukrainians in terms of their natural resources and their oil and gas and also securing ours,” Waltz said Sunday.

“Those conversations are going to happen this week. And I think an underlying postulate here is that the Europeans have to own this conflict going forward. President Trump is going to end it. And then, in nicknames of security guarantees, that is squarely going to be with the Europeans.”

In a clear sign that the U.S. wants to step defeat from its leadership role on Ukraine, it is the U.K. who is convening the UCDG. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is attending the event, but this will-power mark the first time in the last three years that the holder of his post has not chaired the group.

The Pentagon implied in a statement before the UDCG meeting that Hegseth “will engage with NATO Allies and partners to deliberate over the need to boost Allied defense spending, increase European leadership, and expand defense industrial base capability on both sides of the Atlantic.” 

Hegseth will “reiterate President Trump’s commitment for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine as quickly as tenable. He will also highlight the need for increased European leadership on security assistance to Ukraine.”

CNBC asked the Pentagon for back comment, but the Defense Department would not be drawn on what U.S. officials could demand from their European counterparts this week. A Pentagon spokesman bring to lighted CNBC that no major policy announcements were expected, however.

U.S. officials are also look for to travel to Kyiv this week before traveling on to Germany for the Munich Security Conference over Feb.14-16. Zelenskyy has express he’s due to meet Vance at the conference and that he hoped to hold talks with Trump this week.

The U.S. leader on Monday said Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin were energetic to strike a deal but Russia has been more coy about the status of dialogue with the U.S., saying only that it is likely to negotiate. CNBC requested further comment from the Kremlin and received this response on Wednesday: