The Ukrainian president has rejected US demands for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid. Volodymyr Zelensky said that US had supplied nowhere near that sum so far and offered no specific security guarantees in the agreement. The Ukrainian leader said the draft deal proposed the US taking ownership of 50% of Ukraine’s critical minerals. “I am defending Ukraine. I cannot sell our country. That is all. I said okay, let’s have something positive.. you will write down some guarantees, and we will write a memorandum with some percentages (of minerals). I was told only 50%. I said ‘okay, no”, Zelensky said. Trump has said he wants $500 billion in rare earth minerals from Kyiv to secure Washington’s assistance. Trump’s team last week proposed a deal that Kyiv declined to sign in its current form. According to Zelensky, American demands for $500 billion in minerals are “not a serious conversation.” n18oc_world n18oc_crux0:00 INTRODUCTION3:00 WHITE HOUSE SAYS “NEED TO GET ZELENSKY BACK TO REALITY”5:00 RUSSIA OFFERS US DEAL ON NATURAL RESOURCES, ACCESS TO ARCTIC6:54 RUSSIAN FORCES ADVANCE ON UKRAINE’S CRITICAL MINERALS8:04 PUTIN SUGGESTS EUROPEAN HAND IN DRONE STRIKE ON OIL INFRA