Ukraine grants lithium mining rights to Trump-linked investors amid pivot to business-driven alliance

The New York Times reported the information.

Ukraine awarded the rights to develop a major state-owned lithium field on Thursday to a group of investors with close ties to President Trump's administration, marking the latest example of how the U.S.-Ukraine relationship has transformed into a more transactional arrangement centered on business opportunities rather than traditional military aid.

The winning consortium includes Ronald S. Lauder, a cosmetics heir who has been friends with Trump since their college days and who planted the idea in his mind of buying resource-rich Greenland. The other key investor is TechMet, an energy company partially owned by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a government investment agency established during Trump's first term.

A Ukrainian government commission made the decision to award the bid for the Dobra lithium field, one of the country's largest reserves of the mineral used in electric vehicle batteries and other technologies. While the deal still requires cabinet approval, officials familiar with the vote said it is essentially finalized. Two commission members, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the consortium prevailed by meeting most bidding criteria and denied any suggestion of favoritism.

The award reflects Ukraine's strategic effort to align itself with Trump-connected investors as it seeks American support in ongoing peace negotiations with Russia, building on efforts to appeal to his business-oriented mind-set. Since Trump returned to office, Washington has halted most military aid to Kyiv and shifted focus toward investment opportunities and weapons sales. Ukrainian officials have responded by offering potentially lucrative deals in mineral extraction and weapons production.

The mercantile nature of the alliance is evident in a draft peace plan under negotiation between Kyiv and Washington. The plan includes provisions for postwar reconstruction that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has valued at $800 billion and described as creating opportunities for American businesses.

"There's a lot of wealth to be had," Trump said last month while welcoming Zelensky to his Mar-a-Lago resort for another round of negotiations.

Last spring, Ukraine signed a deal granting the United States a stake in its mineral resources and created a joint U.S.-Ukraine fund to invest in future natural resource projects. Ukrainian officials have pitched the Dobra lithium field as a potential pilot project under this agreement.

Under the minerals deal, half of the revenue Ukraine receives from the lithium field will flow into the joint investment fund. The agreement also requires companies developing mineral sites to present their projects to the fund first if they need additional investors—a mechanism designed to favor American business interests. This creates potential conflicts of interest, as the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation both oversees the fund and holds a stake in TechMet.

The tender required a minimum investment of $179 million, though a commission member indicated the consortium's pledge was significantly higher. However, actual mining and profits remain years away. The consortium must complete geological surveys and finance necessary equipment and infrastructure. Industry experts estimate it typically takes approximately 15 years from discovery to extraction—a timeline extending well beyond Trump's current term.

Ukraine has signaled openness to American business cooperation in other ways. Last month, it appointed Patrick Fragman, former CEO of Westinghouse, a major U.S. nuclear technology company, to the supervisory board of state-owned nuclear giant Energoatom. Several Ukrainian officials acknowledged the appointment could pose a conflict of interest but suggested it signals Kyiv's eagerness to cooperate with the Trump administration, particularly regarding peace negotiations. Mr. Trump has proposed that the United States be involved in the management of a major Ukrainian nuclear plant currently under Russia's control as part of a peace settlement.