Trump wants U.S. aid to Ukraine classified as debt — economist

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Trump's behavior is absolutely clear, and all his proposals are also clear. We are currently focusing on the issue of rare earth metals, especially recently, and the main thing is not this, the main thing is different. Trump wants Ukraine to recognize its debt to the United States for the assistance it has previously received. Moreover, the amount of the debt is clearly overstated compared to the revenues that were received. I do not know how this will be formalized in accordance with Ukrainian and American law. Because what we received were official grant programs," Pendzyn explained.

According to the economist, the Pentagon and the US budget provided Ukraine with weapons under grant programs in accordance with the law. Now Trump wants this entire free package to be recognized as a debt.

"This is the main thing. And the mechanisms for repaying this debt are the third issue: rare earth metals, port infrastructure, gas, oil, grain. It doesn't matter to Trump, the main thing is whether the debt is recognized or not. What Ukraine offered was completely different, when Zelenskyy, in the fourth paragraph of the Peace Plan, talked about joint development of Ukrainian rare earth metals with American companies, i.e., investments in Ukrainian mining," Pendzyn emphasized.

• Serhiy Zgurets, military expert and CEO of the Defense Express media and consulting company, said that under an optimistic scenario, the delivery of new weapons from the United States should take place in 2025.