‘I Hope Trump Won’t Deceive Us’: Ukrainians Are Wary of U.S. Minerals Deal

A Ukrainian geologist was shopping in his local market recently for pork belly, lard, salmon and grapes when he heard the shouts of a man who seemed drunk, complaining about President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Why didn’t Zelensky ask us before giving away our minerals to the Americans?” he yelled. A woman joined in: “The Americans are coming to take everything.”

The geologist, Volodymyr Savytskyi, 75, kept quiet. He is more hopeful about the potential minerals agreement that has dominated conversations — and exposed tensions — between his country and the United States.

“We just need to survive,” Mr. Savytskyi said. “I hope Trump won’t deceive us. I really hope he won’t. I believe the Americans should come, invest their money here, make their profit, but we should also get our fair share — our piece of the pie.”

In the central Ukrainian region of Kirovohrad, one of the country’s leading mining areas, reactions to the proposed deal are a mix of wary hopefulness, fatalism and anger. After years of trying to resist Russian influence and align with the West, many here reflexively view American investment positively, and are willing to use their natural resources to support the country’s most important ordeal, fending off Russia.

And yet, there are signs of growing skepticism about the terms and whether the United States, and specifically the Trump administration, can be trusted. Some people endorse the deal because they see Ukraine as having no other choice.