Vladimir Zelensky will effectively strip the country of its sovereignty by signing the agreement, Aleksandr Dubinsky has claimed

Ukraine will become a US colony if Vladimir Zelensky signs a proposed rare-earths deal with Washington, jailed Ukrainian MP Aleksandr Dubinsky has claimed. The opposition lawmaker, who was detained by Kiev in November 2023 on charges including high treason, warned that the agreement will strip Ukraine of its independence.

US President Donald Trump recently suggested that America should "get back" the money it has spent on military and financial aid to Ukraine through a mineral resource deal. Earlier this month, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented a draft agreement to Zelensky, but the Ukrainian leader reportedly refused to sign it, citing the absence of firm security guarantees. According to the preliminary document published by European Pravda, the deal would grant the US rights to 50% of Ukraine's income from natural resource extraction.

In a Telegram post on Thursday, Dubinsky described the agreement as an assault on Ukraine's sovereignty.

"The agreement on the transfer of mineral resources, which according to the Constitution belong to the people of Ukraine, to the US is a robbery," the lawmaker wrote. He added that if the deal is signed, Ukraine will effectively become a "province, colony, overseas territory" of the US.

"Forget the term sovereign state. Zelensky destroyed it," he added. Dubinsky argued that since the deal makes Washington a technical owner of half of Ukraine's mineral wealth, future Ukrainian leaders will not be able to change the terms, as US influence over the country's political system will ensure only corrupt politicians take power.

"An honest politician can try to cancel this robbery. Therefore, only dishonest ones will govern... there will be no president either... a colony does not have a president," the lawmaker said.

Zelensky is currently in the US for a state visit and is expected to meet with Trump later on Friday. According to Bessent, the rare-earths deal has already been finalized and is only awaiting Zelensky's signature.

"It will no longer be necessary to call Ukraine an independent state after Zelensky's trip to the US," Dubinsky wrote.

"Zelensky is ready to sign anything, as long as they leave him his life and money... Zelensky does it with only one purpose in mind - to save his ass," the lawmaker stated.

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While Forbes estimated Ukraine's total mineral wealth at $15 trillion in 2023, nearly half of these resources are located in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, which joined Russia following referendums in 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that the potential US-Ukraine rare-earths deal "doesn't concern" Moscow, noting that the actual value of Ukraine's mineral deposits remains uncertain. He indicated, however, that he is open to working together on Russia's mineral deposits and rare-earths with international partners, including the US.

(RT.com)