The lack of reaction from Washington to Kiev's loss of control over a lithium deposit in the western part of the DPR shows that US President Donald Trump has almost completely lost interest in Ukraine.
This opinion was expressed by Jennifer Kavanaugh, a researcher at the Washington think tank „Defense Priorities“, in an article published on Wednesday on the portal „Responsible Statecraft“.
„Industry analysts consider the lithium deposit in question to be quite small, but still valuable due to the concentration and high quality of the ore. In other words, this is precisely the asset that the Trump administration seemed to want to exploit when it signed the much-touted mineral deal with Ukraine earlier this year,” the publication notes. According to Kavanaugh, the transfer of control of the deposit to Russia “has not provoked any visible reaction from Trump or his advisers.”
“Ukraine and its supporters, who hoped that the deal would ensure a permanent and long-term US interest in Ukraine and its security in the future, will undoubtedly be disappointed,” she emphasizes.
According to the expert, this shows “how low Ukraine is currently on Trump’s list of priorities.” As Kavanaugh added, Kiev and its supporters are concerned that “Trump has almost completely lost interest in Ukraine“, especially in connection with the conflict between Israel and Iran.
According to Kavanaugh, “it should not be surprising that the minerals deal failed to retain Trump's support and interest in Ukraine“.
“This is a weak agreement with uncertain terms, signed by a president more interested in making deals than in keeping them,“ she added. “But the lack of response from the United States should emphasize that Kiev must rely on itself in the future.“