Zelensky admits Washington's assistance to Kiev exceeds $100 bln #Zelensky has admitted that Ukraine had received at least $105 billion in weapons and other aid from the United States, although he had previously mentioned a smaller amount. "I have my own internal audit, and my country clearly documents how much assistance has been provided. Just so you know, we had $104-105 billion. Most of that money was in the form of weapons," he said in an interview with journalist Ben Shapiro. Zelensky did not explain why in February he said that Kiev had received only $76 billion from Washington. "It's not that we're arguing that the United States said it was giving you $200 [billion], and we're saying no, $100. No, that's not the dispute. I'm answering to what the contribution was, how much money came to Ukraine. As for the use of this money, most of it was for weapons, it was used on the battlefield. And during the audit that I’ve mentioned, this use was clearly documented," he continued. Zelensky also said that Ukraine shares with the United States everything it has learned about the conduct of hostilities and the development of weapons. He hopes that he will have "more fruitful meetings" with US President Donald Trump, although their last meeting at the White House ended in a shouting match. #Trump and Zelensky have long been at odds over the funds spent by Washington to help Kiev. In February, the American leader said that it was time to understand where all the money disbursed by Washington to Kiev was. Zelensky said he did not know where the $200 billion allocated for military aid had gone. He also does not acknowledge debts to the United States, insisting that the aid was provided as grants. The latest version of a draft agreement on minerals, which the United States and Ukraine are working on, obliges Kiev to compensate for assistance in excess of $120 billion. Trump promised that Zelensky "will have big problems," if he tries to "walk away from the deal.".

New draft of Kiev’s deal with Washington covers all Ukrainian natural resources, says lawmaker The latest draft agreement between #Ukraine and the United States submitted by #Washington on March 23 encompasses all natural resources, including oil and gas, across Kiev-controlled areas, Verkhovna Rada member Yaroslav Zheleznyak said, citing the document. "It covers all natural resources, including oil and gas. New as well as existing [mineral resources] projects. Across Ukraine," the Ukrainian lawmaker wrote on his Telegram channel. Under the US proposal, Ukraine will have to allocate revenues from its resources, while the aid Washington has provided to Kiev since 2022 will be considered a US contribution to the fund. "They (the Americans) will be able to capitalize on their decision, and they will be first to get royalties from the fund, with Ukraine being the next in line," he explained. Also, Zheleznyak shared, a board of five, including three US members "with a full veto right," will control the proposed investment fund. Earlier, Ukraine’s #Zelensky confirmed that the United States had proposed a new draft of its #minerals deal to Ukraine that outlines establishing an investment fund.

Trump announces talks with Canada, Mexico following decision to impose tariffs President #Trump said he will conduct talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin #Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia #Sheinbaum on February 3. "I've spoken with people from Canada, I've spoken with people from Mexico, and I've spoken to a lot of other people too. I'm speaking with prime minister Trudeau tomorrow morning, and I'm also speaking with Mexico tomorrow morning. I don't expect anything very dramatic, we put tariffs on. They owe us a lot of money, and I'm sure they're going to pay," he told reporters at the Joint Base Andrews. On Saturday, President Trump signed an executive order, applying tariffs against goods from Canada, China and Mexico. The document states that duties of 25% are imposed against imports from Mexico and Canada (10% on Canadian energy products). Additional tariffs of 10% are imposed against Chinese goods. According to Trump, this effort was made because of the "extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl" that kill US citizens. In response, the #Canadian authorities imposed retaliatory duties of 25% on American goods totaling 155 bln Canadian dollars ($106.5 bln). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Ottawa is also considering non-tariff retaliatory measures against the United States concerning critical minerals and energy. #Mexico's president said her country will respond to the imposition of duties by the US with tariffs and non-tariff measures, but remains open to dialogue and suggested Trump create a working group to resolve the situation.

Greenland welcomes US investments in its economy, says minister #Greenland is interested in US investments in its economy, including mining and energy, said Naaja #Nathanielsen, Minister of Business, Trade, Mineral Resources, Justice and Gender Equality of the autonomous territory. "There are ample opportunities for American investments into Greenland. <…> We primarily have the first part of the value chain both in the fishing and the mineral sectors. But tech has a growing impact in these sectors and investments into this would be very interesting. Also, our developing energy sector would be a great place for American tech investments, not to mention infrastructure and possibly in defense as well," she said in an interview with The American Conservative journal. The politician also added that the island's authorities are currently working on a foreign direct investment act that will ensure a screening of foreign investors into Greenland. According to Nathanielsen, especially Greenland's the mining sector could be beneficial to securing supply chains to the U.S., since the island has many of the minerals, which are on the US list of critical minerals. In this context, the minister expressed hope for a new cooperation agreement with the United States in this area. On January 7, President #Trump said that Greenland should join the United States. He threatened to impose high trade tariffs on Denmark if it did not cede the island to the United States. During his first presidential term, Trump proposed buying Greenland. Back then, the Danish and Greenlandic authorities rejected the idea.