Donald Trump Says America Will Reclaim Aid Money from Ukraine

In an interview with Fox News, the U.S. President stated that Ukraine might "one day be part of Russia" and emphasized that Washington will reclaim the expenses incurred in the country. Donald Trump, in this interview aired on Monday, February 11, just before his Vice President's meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, referred to the substantial financial and military aid provided by Joe Biden's administration to Kyiv, saying: "They may reach an agreement or not, they may one day be part of Russia or not, but in any case, I say we will get this money back." The U.S. President pointed to Ukraine's rich natural resources, stating that Kyiv could offset Washington's aid with these resources, including its rare minerals. Trump added that he told the Ukrainians he wants rare minerals equivalent to U.S. aid, worth about five hundred billion dollars, and they have agreed, "so we won't look foolish." Since the onset of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, Washington has been Ukraine's most important ally, and Kyiv has sought to get closer to Trump's administration, including proposing U.S. participation in the development of Ukraine's mineral reserves. The U.S. President reiterated his determination to end the war quickly, recalling his campaign promises. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky has called for serious security guarantees from Washington as part of any agreement with Moscow. Kyiv is concerned that an agreement without military commitments from the West, such as Ukraine's NATO membership or the deployment of peacekeeping forces, would only help Russia to regroup and prepare for a new attack. Sergey Nikiforov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian President, confirmed that Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with JD Vance, Trump's Vice President, on Friday, February 16, during the Munich Security Conference. About a week after this meeting, Keith Kellogg, the U.S. President's special envoy, will head to Ukraine. Trump's insistence on ending the Russia-Ukraine war continues as leaders from both countries have so far rejected any direct meetings and have put forth very different demands as conditions for stopping the war. Vladimir Putin has called for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from some eastern and southern regions of Russia and simultaneously deems Kyiv's close ties with NATO unacceptable. On the other hand, Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the annexation of parts of Ukrainian territory by Russia, although he has accepted that diplomatic efforts may be needed to regain parts of this land. Russia has annexed five regions of Ukraine; the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and then the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia regions in 2022, although it does not fully control some of these areas. Zelensky announced on Monday, without specifying a date, plans to meet with Donald Trump. The U.S. President had previously mentioned the "possibility" of meeting with Zelensky in the coming days but emphasized that he would not travel to Kyiv. The Ukrainian President has requested that Donald Trump meet with him before meeting with the Russian President and that Kyiv participate in discussions regarding the peace plan. The New York Post reported on Saturday, quoting Donald Trump, about a phone call between the leaders of the U.S. and the Russian Federation regarding the war. The U.S. President stated that Vladimir Putin emphasized he wants to see an end to the loss of human life in these conflicts. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, did not confirm or deny the phone call between the Russian and American leaders. The upcoming trip of Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, retired General Keith Kellogg, was confirmed by the U.S. President, who stated that his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia would soon head to Ukraine. On Monday evening, February 11, Trump announced this and said he would speak with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, this week. The news of the imminent trip of Kellogg, who was recently appointed as the U.S. special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, was first reported on CNN on Monday, and shortly after, the Ukrainian President also announced the visit of several important members of Trump's government to Kyiv in the coming days. CNN reported that Trump's special envoy would first engage in discussions with U.S. allies at the Munich Security Conference from February 16 to 18 and then head to Kyiv. However, Volodymyr Zelensky later stated that the visit of several "important" members of Trump's government to Kyiv would take place before the Munich Security Conference. In his video message, Zelensky also stated that he would meet with JD Vance, Trump's Vice President, during the Munich Security Conference.