At least five people were killed and more than 50 hurt in a Russian missile strike on eastern Ukraine as the Kremlin criticised US president Donald Trump’s suggestion that Kyiv could secure future US support in exchange for supplies of valuable rare earth elements.
“Izyum. The rescue operation continues after a Russian missile strike on the city. This attack destroyed part of the city council building,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said of Tuesday’s attack on the small city in the eastern Kharkiv region.
“This brutality cannot be tolerated. Maximum pressure must be applied to Russia – through military force, sanctions and diplomacy – to stop the terror and protect lives,” he added.
Local officials said at least three children were among those wounded in the attack on central Izyum, which was carried out close to midday using an Iskander ballistic missile, according to preliminary findings.
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Ukraine says it needs more air defence systems and other weapons from western allies to protect its civilian population, critical power and other infrastructure, and hold back Russia’s invasion force on the battlefield, so that it is in a position of strength as Mr Trump pushes for a deal to end Europe’s biggest war in 80 years.
“We’re looking to do a deal where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things,” Mr Trump said at the White House. “They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it.”
Ukraine has deposits of rare earths such as scandium and metals such as lithium, uranium and titanium that are vital for high-tech industries and are at the centre of global competition for resources with other big states such as China, Russia and India. Some areas that are believed to be rich in rare earths have been occupied by Russia since it launched its full invasion of pro-western Ukraine in February 2022, or are now close to the front line.
Mr Zelenskiy’s administration is believed to be open to supplying the US and other key allies with Ukrainian resources in return for long-term commitments on security and other assistance.
“Probably, if you call things by their proper names, this is a proposal to purchase assistance. That is, not to continue to provide it on a free or other basis, but to provide it on a commercial basis,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “It would be better, of course, not to provide assistance at all and thereby help to end this conflict.”
German chancellor Olaf Scholz also criticised Mr Trump’s proposal, calling it “very selfish, very self-centred” and saying that Ukraine’s mineral wealth should be used to help finance post-war reconstruction.
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