Summary
Ukrainian officials were advised not to sign a U.S. proposal on accessing rare earth minerals, as it prioritized U.S. interests and lacked security guarantees for Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The document, presented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent during a Kyiv visit, was intended as compensation for U.S. aid.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskyy stressed any agreement must ensure both financial benefits and security for Ukraine amid ongoing Russian aggression, and Ukraine is preparing a counter proposal.
In between the end of the Soviet Union and them signing the Budapest Memorandum and giving the nukes from the ex-Soviet Union that were in their territory to Russia, there was definitelly a period during which the sovereign nation of Ukraine had nukes under their control.