Ukraine conflict | Protection racketeer Washington

After six weeks in office, one thing is clear: US President Donald Trump enjoys being a global protection racketeer. Regardless of whether his appetite is whetted by Panama or Canada, Greenland or Gaza, by Europe in general or by Ukraine, the dealmaker-in-chief is always trying to make the USA "great again" with financial agreements. No one is feeling this more painfully than Ukraine, which is fighting for survival.

Trump is also pushing European countries to spend on military equipment on a scale similar to that seen during the Cold War. According to Trump's ideas, the countries of the European Union, but also Brexit Britain and Ukraine should pay their tribute to the "golden age of America," the beginning of which he proclaimed when he took office.

After the blood toll on President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, which has been largely destroyed by Russia, is now to be economically plundered by the other president. At a conference of conservative US activists, Trump tied continued aid to Ukraine to conditions: "I want," he demanded, "that they give us something for all the money we have raised. We want rare earths and oil, everything we can get." Both presidents want to force Ukraine to dictate peace - Putin with bombs, Trump with protection rackets.

Even though Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington on Monday, he does not see the EU as an equal . Nevertheless, Ukraine and the EU should bear the costs of reconstruction and long-term peacekeeping alone. In July 2022, the World Bank estimated the costs of reconstruction and long-term stabilization of Ukraine at 750 billion US dollars.

The second top European politician after President Macron is British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is expected in Washington this Thursday. Before his departure, he made it clear: "We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine." He underlined how important it is to him to maintain balance in the White House on Tuesday in the British Parliament: The USA is our most important partner, but "closer cooperation with Europe" is just as important.

Starmer will not make any fundamental decision against Washington; London is too weak for that. Instead, he will continue to try to balance all of Trump's volte-faces in such a way that both diplomacy and the special relationship that the British have called for are satisfied. This includes being aware of the need to vigilantly counter any attempt by Trump to use this "special relationship" as a dividing wedge against Europe. Like Macron, Starmer will try to convince Trump that peace in Ukraine must be permanent and can only be negotiated with them.

With Starmer's arrival in the USA, there is a new development in the Ukraine issue: After a long dispute over a raw materials deal, according to media reports, Kyiv and Washington have agreed on the details of a contract that would give the USA access to resources in the country attacked by Russia in return for aid from Washington. There was initially no official statement from Ukraine.

There was a fierce dispute over the agreement because President Volodymyr Zelensky initially refused to sign it. European countries also expressed outrage that Trump apparently sees the country's wartime plight as an opportunity for lucrative exploitation. In addition to rare earths, which are important for high-tech products, the issue also concerns the USA's access to Ukrainian oil and gas. Trump had insisted on such a deal as compensation for the US military aid provided.

According to reports, the supposed final version no longer mentions security guarantees from the USA. But Ukraine has repeatedly insisted on this. According to reports, the USA will not have 100 percent control over a planned reconstruction fund into which the revenue from the extraction of natural resources is to flow. The fund is to be managed jointly by the USA and Ukraine. Up to 50 percent of it is to be fed from revenues from the sale of raw materials and from ports and other infrastructure that are important for the handling of natural resources.

According to the Financial Times, President Zelensky will sign the agreement with Trump this Friday in Washington. The latter reacted in a demonstratively condescending manner in an initial statement: "I hear that he wants to come on Friday. That's fine with me if he wants to."

Shortly before, Zelensky had justified his non-signing of the agreement with a lack of security guarantees. He also called the alleged total amount of US aid to date of 500 billion dollars inaccurate and criticized the fact that President Trump now wants to retroactively reclassify past aid payments as loans. "We cannot recognize financial aid as debt," said Zelensky.