The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that he does not intend to acknowledge the Agreement under which Ukraine would owe the United States $500 billion.
He made this announcement during a press conference at the "Ukraine. Year – 2025" forum on February 23.
The war has cost Ukraine $320 billion: Zelensky named the share of U.S. aidUkraine has spent $320 billion on weapons, of which $200 billion was provided by the European Union and the U.S., Zelensky said.Zelensky mentioned that discussions might involve $100 billion in aid from the U.S., but not the $500 billion previously claimed by Trump.
“$100 billion in aid from the United States, not 500, not 350, not 250, not 700, Ukraine received 100. And we are very grateful for that. The cost of this war to date is $320 billion. 120 – Ukraine, 100 – Europe. Europe plus partners. The rest, for example, Japan – about $15 billion. And 100 – the U.S. This is what the economy of this war looks like,” said the Ukrainian leader.
According to him, the U.S. terms regarding the agreement on mineral resources were characterized as a debt that Kyiv was required to repay to Washington.
He also added that he does not wish to recognize $100 billion in debt to the U.S., as he does not consider financial aid from the U.S. to be a debt.
“We should not recognize grants as debts, whether we like it or not. I negotiated with Biden and with the Congress of the United States of America, I am grateful to Congress; there was the presence of both parties and support for grants. A grant is not a debt. There is no need to repay a debt. Maybe this is not liked and it is unfair; maybe I don’t know, but this is the agreement that was made before. This is a grant,” emphasized the president.
Zelensky added that he “does not sign what will burden 10 generations of Ukrainians.”
It is known that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared key aspects of the agreement that should be concluded between the United States and Ukraine regarding rare earth metals.
Recall that on February 19, Zelensky reported that the preliminary draft of the mineral resources agreement proposed by the U.S. contained almost no clear provisions. Following this, the Trump administration provided Ukraine with an updated agreement on mineral resources.
On February 21, it was reported that Ukraine and the U.S. plan to finalize the mineral resources agreement by the end of the week.