US President Donald Trump has expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin would keep his word on a peace deal for Ukraine. Trump believes that US workers extracting critical minerals in Ukraine would act as a security backstop to deter Russia from invading again.
Trump made these comments during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House, where they discussed a potential peace deal and security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump stopped short of providing a firm commitment on security guarantees, but suggested that the US having a stake in Ukraine’s rare earths sector would be enough of a deterrent for Russia.