What to make of the Ukraine minerals deal

NPR | By Darian Woods,

Kenny Malone, Cooper Katz McKim, Kate Concannon

Published March 6, 2025 at 10:00 AM EST

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London on March 2, 2025

Even after Monday's pause on military aid to Ukraine following the Oval Office blow-up, it looks like a minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine is back on the table. We dive into what this potential deal would actually look like and whether Ukraine's minerals really live up to the hype.

Related episodes:
An end to China's rare earth monopoly? (Apple / Spotify)
The cost of a dollar in Ukraine (Apple / Spotify)

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Darian Woods

Darian Woods is a co-host of The Indicator from Planet Money.

See stories by Darian Woods

Kenny Malone

Kenny Malone is a correspondent for NPR's Planet Money podcast. Before that, he was a reporter for WNYC's Only Human podcast. Before that, he was a reporter for Miami's WLRN. And before that, he was a reporter for his friend T.C.'s homemade newspaper, Neighborhood News.

Cooper Katz McKim

Cooper Katz McKim is an Associate Producer for The Indicator from Planet Money.

Kate Concannon

Kate Concannon is the Supervising Senior Editor at The Indicator from Planet Money. She leads this small, collaborative team of hosts, reporters and producers in making sense of crucial, but often complex and confusing, economic news in just 10 minutes a day.

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