Maps: competition for Ukraine’s critical materials and Spain’s solution

Zelensky’s proposal to sell rare earths to the Trump administration in exchange for funding and military support has raised concerns in the European Union. Darío Salinas, CEO of Cassini, analyzes through three geopolitical maps how the possible exchange of critical materials in exchange for support reinforces the need for a European strategy and with Spain as a key player.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s recent proposal to sell rare earths to the Trump administration – with estimated reserves of 500,000 tonnes of neodymium and dysprosium, as well as significant deposits of titanium, lithium, graphite and uranium valued by the Kiev government at trillions of dollars – in exchange for financing and military support has generated deep concern in the European Union.

This proposal has been made concrete this week with the announcement of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s trip to Kiev, being the first member of Trump’s cabinet to visit Ukraine to directly negotiate this exchange. Brussels fears that these key resources for technology and the energy transition will come under US influence, reducing the continent’s supply options in a context of growing geopolitical competition. The global economic reconfiguration is marked by the dispute over critical materials, and the EU, with a 98% dependence on China on processed rare earths, is in a particularly vulnerable position.

Donald Trump’s return to the presidency in 2025 has intensified this rivalry significantly. In his first week in office, he signed an executive order to review the rare earth supply chain, which shot up its value by 15% in international markets.

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