Friday 28th of February 2025
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written in blood, signed with the pencil of history....

The United States and Ukraine have finalized their agreement on rare earths and other natural resources, and Vladimir Zelensky is expected to sign the final document without further negotiations during his meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday, according to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

Trump has repeatedly stated in recent weeks that the US wants to “get back”the money it has spent on military and financial aid to Kiev through an upcoming mineral deal with Ukraine. However, Zelensky had previously refused to sign the agreement without concrete US security guarantees for Kiev.

“The deal is done. President Zelensky is coming here to sign the deal tomorrow, so there is no more negotiation, there is nothing else,” Bessent told Fox Business on Thursday.

Bessent traveled to Kiev earlier this month but returned empty-handed after Zelensky allegedly lashed out at him over a US demand that Ukraine hand over 50% of its critical minerals as compensation for past aid. According to Financial Times sources, Zelensky’s frustration boiled over during their closed-door meeting as Bessent pushed for an immediate signature on the deal.

Bessent reiterated that the deal has since been finalized and is only awaiting Zelensky’s signature. The Ukrainian leader arrived in Washington on Thursday night and is set to meet with Trump on Friday.

“I’m sure President Zelensky and President Trump will have a wide-ranging discussion. But as far as the deal, it is complete. It is on paper, and the Ukrainian government has approved it. It is just awaiting the signature of the two heads of state tomorrow,” he said.

The deal would encompass not only “strategic” rare earth minerals but also “oil and gas and infrastructure assets,” according to Bessent, who called it a “win-win” for both Americans and Ukrainians.

“It shows the American people that there is upside here for them, that we have not squandered the money, because the American people are always concerned about overseas interventions, there’s a lot of corruption,” he added. “So this deal takes out the possibility of any corruption, using Americans’ best practices.”

The exact terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but according to media reports, Washington will not offer any tangible security guarantees despite Kiev’s requests. Instead, it will only “support its efforts” to secure such assurances in the future.

Trump noted on Thursday that the mineral deal itself should serve as a sufficient guarantee for Ukraine.

“It’s really going to get us into that country. We’ll be working there. We’ll have a lot of people working there. And so, in that sense, it’s very good. It’s a backstop, you could say,” Trump told journalists while hosting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. “I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers.”

“It’s really very good for Ukraine, and very good for us,” Trump added. “The American taxpayers will now effectively be reimbursed for the money and hundreds of billions of dollars poured into helping Ukraine.”

https://www.rt.com/news/613420-ukraine-minerals-deal-done/

 

AL CAPONE WOULD NOT HAVE DONE A BETTER DEAL... HE WAS ONLY A SMALL CROOK.... THIS DEAL IS TO PREVENT RUSSIA FROM TAKING MORE LANDS THAN IT HAS TAKEN BACK...

AS LONG AS:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE COULD ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

TRANSNISTRIA SHOULD BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

 

AND THE WORLD SWIMS IN BLISS....

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

ukraine's final hour....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL9GWBW0uKw

Scott Ritter: Trump Admits Russia Won, Putin CRUSHES Ukraine–NATO in TOTAL Collapse?

 

SPECIAL Debate episode! Ukraine's final hour approaches as Russia's overwhelming advantages are bolstered by a US administration which openly admits to closest ally UK to the need to end the conflict as soon as possible. But is the US genuine about peace or seeking to regroup NATO in a different form to continue its pursuit for hegemony. This is a conversation you don't want to miss.

 

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

 

 

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

TRANSNISTRIA WILL BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

 

EASY.

 

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

extortion....

Ukraine - Minerals Deal Agreement, Lavrov Rejects Peacekeepers, War Destined To Become Trump's Vietnam 

The New York Times reports (archived) that "Ukraine has agreed to turn over the revenue from some of its mineral resources to the United States".

Ukraine will get nothing of value in return for it. The (former) Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski is expected to visit the White House of Friday to submit to the extraordinary extortion of his country.

The deal is imposed indentured servitude at scale:

a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or service (e.g. travel), purported eventual compensation, or debt repayment. An indenture may also be imposed involuntarily as a judicial punishment. The practice has been compared to the similar institution of slavery, although there are differences.

Ukraine is expected to get nothing, except more war, from this agreement. As Ted Snider describes it:

Normally, it is the country that defeated you in war, and not the country that defended you, that pillages you after the war. Unfortunately for Ukraine, its biggest military defender is set to pillage its resources as the two countries have now signed a minerals agreement after Trump warned that a refusal to sign would have led to “a lot of problems” for Ukraine.

Many mistakes have been made in the war over Ukraine’s minerals: Zelensky may have made a mistake in his strategy, and Trump may be mistaken in facts.
...
[T]he ones who will suffer from the American pillaging of Ukraine will be the people of Ukraine. All of that revenue that will be exported out of the country is money that could now be spent on defense and later spent on rebuilding the tattered economy and reconstructing the shattered nation.

Ukrainian media just published the full text of the agreement. Strana summarizes it as follows (machine translation):

 

The main thing that becomes clear from the published draft agreement:

  • It does not guarantee the security of Ukraine from the United States, as Vladimir Zelensky insisted. Security guarantees are mentioned only once: "The United States Government supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain the security guarantees necessary to create a lasting peace." That is, it is not about providing security guarantees, but about "supporting Ukraine's efforts" to obtain them. Moreover, the logic of the text implies that these guarantees should be given by someone other than the United States, otherwise it would look strange that Washington supports efforts to obtain guarantees from itself.
  • The text does not specify who and how will manage the work of the fund, which will receive funds from revenues from the development of Ukrainian deposits. As stated, this will be written out in a separate agreement on the fund, which has not yet been prepared and must be ratified by the parliament. However, it is stipulated that the management will be joint, as well as the content, and "the powers of representatives of the US government in the decision-making process will be within the limits permitted by the current legislation of the United States." That is, the American fund managers will operate in their own jurisdiction, and not in the Ukrainian one.
  • The Fund will receive income from the future monetization of all relevant natural resource assets that are state-owned by Ukraine-regardless of whether they are directly or indirectly owned by the state. It is stipulated that we are not talking about income from already operating enterprises.
  • Ukraine will "contribute to the fund 50% of all proceeds received from the future monetization of all relevant natural resource assets," no matter what ownership they are. The United States will also contribute.
  • Contributions made to the fund will be reinvested in Ukraine at least once a year. The amount of reinvestment is not specified. Its procedure will be defined in the future agreement on the fund.

There are so many vague points in the agreement that it is hard to evaluate its consequences.

I find it difficult to imagine that any Ukrainian parliament or its fascists 'nationalists' will agree to it:

In their eagerness to align with Western powers, Ukrainian officials are effectively endorsing policies that undermine the nation’s autonomy. Rather than pursuing an independent economic strategy, Ukraine continues to adopt arrangements that leave it vulnerable to external western manipulation. 
...
This deal highlights the dangers of Ukraine’s continued reliance on Western aid. True national strength and independence cannot be achieved through mechanisms that strip away a country’s natural wealth and leave it perpetually indebted to external powers.

It is also doubtful that the agreement will withstand legal challenges. There are serious rumors that Zelenski had already sold Ukraine's minerals to Britain.

In other news the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Lavrov has (again) rejected the stationing of any European 'peacekeepers' in Ukraine:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow could not consider "any options" for European peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine and that the idea was aimed at fuelling the conflict and making it harder to de-escalate.

President Macron of France and Prime Minister Starmer of Great Britain have said that they were willing to deploy their forces in Ukraine. Both however have asked for U.S. backing which the Trump administration is unlike to offer. Russia will in any case be hostile to it:

Lavrov, who has previously called the proposal "unacceptable," set out Moscow's objections to any deployment in some of the strongest terms yet, removing any doubt about the matter after Trump's suggestion that Putin had come round to the idea.

"We cannot consider any options" when it comes to European peacekeepers, he said during a visit to Qatar.

By pressing for the agreement, instead of taking the Russian offer for access to minerals, Trump has committed himself to continue the war in Ukraine.

Michael Tracey @mtracey - 23:39 UTC · Feb 25, 2025

After Ukraine agrees to the mineral "deal," Trump says in return Ukraine receives "the right to fight on." He boasts that he was the one who first gave Javelins to Ukraine, which wiped out a lot of Russian tanks. He says US weapons could continue to flow to Ukraine "for awhile"
Embedded video

It will lead to the failure of his peace initiative.

The war Ukraine is now destined to become Trump's Vietnam.

 

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/02/ukraine-minerals-deal-agreement-war-destined-to-become-trumps-vietnam-lavrov-rejects-peacekeepers.html#more

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

IN THIS ARTICLE, IT IS EXPOSED THAT THE DEAL IS DONE TO PREVENT RUSSIA FROM GAINING MORE THAN IT HAS GOT.... THIS IS WHY GUS USES A PENCIL RATHER THAN A PEN IN THE CARTOON....

ONE HAS TO ADD THAT ZELENSKY CAN ONLY SURVIVE IN UKRAINE IF ALL HIS MATES AND SUPPORTERS (NAZIS) GET A SUBSTANTIAL BRIBE IN THE PROCESS...