Marco Rubio says Ukraine minerals could help defray U.S. war funding costs

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday in an attempt to wind down ongoing hostilities with Russia. And Donald Trump’s chief diplomat says the U.S. will be positioned to recoup at least some of the money spent backing Kyiv’s cause.

“The U.S. is going to have a stake in Ukraine’s long-term independence, and that should be anchored in an ongoing economic interest,” Rubio said on the “Clay and Buck” Show.

Rubio added that the stake could include “the ability to partner with Ukraine, a joint venture or something like that for their mineral rights, you know, all the natural resources they have.”

He also said “some of that money will go back to pay back the U.S. taxpayer for the billions of dollars that’s been spent there.”

The spend has been substantial. But the benefits could dwarf that.

Through the end of the last fiscal year, Ukraine response funding neared $183 billion. The Trump administration has proposed a deal worth $500 billion, which is under review by the Ukrainian government.

The potential accord comes as peace could be at hand.

Trump said this week that he had a “lengthy and highly productive phone call” with an eye toward moves “to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine” with Zelenskyy’s Russian counterpart, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Rubio, along with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, will “lead the negotiations” that Trump believes “will be successful.”

Expect a lot of parties to have a say.

Rubio said Thursday the team is “going to be talking to Ukraine and we’re going to be talking to all of our allies and partners in Europe and around the world regarding this as well.”