How much are Ukraine’s mineral resources in the occupied territories worth? An expert explains
22 April 20:29
U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that the United States has provided Ukraine with $350 billion in aid are untrue, and the figure itself strangely coincides with the estimated value of mineral resources in Ukraine’s occupied territories. Economist Andriy Novak discussed this in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
It is worth noting that the figure of $350 billion was previously mentioned at the “Ukraine. Year 2025” forum in February 2025—this is precisely how the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine estimated the value of mineral resources in the temporarily occupied territories. Later, this figure appeared in the U.S. president’s rhetoric as the amount of aid provided.
“To be honest, I tried to get inside Donald Trump’s head and make sense of it. I couldn’t. Where does this information come from? It’s just a wild guess with no factual basis. They roughly estimated something, or maybe they didn’t even estimate it. Someone made a claim, someone took it at face value, and a certain amount started circulating. And that amount ballooned to $350 billion, which strangely coincides with the value of mineral resources in the occupied territories of Ukraine,” says Novak.
The expert explains that the actual financial aid from the United States is significantly less than the amounts Trump cites, and comparing them is incorrect.
“Over the course of the war, starting in 2014, the United States has provided Ukraine, at best, a maximum of $65 billion in various forms, including weapons, direct financial aid, and humanitarian aid. Where is the $350 billion, and where is the $65 billion? The difference is very significant, to put it mildly,” he says.
Regarding the very estimate of Ukrainian mineral resources in the occupied territories at that same $350 billion, Novak notes: it is practically impossible to calculate the exact value of the resources.
According to the economist, any “fixed” figure for the value of Ukraine’s resources in the temporarily occupied territories is highly arbitrary, as markets and technologies are constantly changing. Moreover, the lion’s share of Ukraine’s mineral resources has remained unexplored since the days of the Soviet Union, he adds.
“It is practically impossible to estimate the exact value of Ukraine’s resources in the temporarily occupied territories,” he emphasizes.
