Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is not ready to sign a rare earth minerals deal with the US despite Donald Trump claiming an agreement was close, a Ukrainian source has said. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The backdrop of these negotiations is closely tied to the political climate in the United States and Russia. Trump, aiming to bolster his image as a global negotiator in an election year, has tried to project this development as a diplomatic achievement of his administration.