February 24 - Forever Black Day

This day is particularly dark for me as we are marking three full years of Russia's assault on Ukraine. There was a large rally and demonstration in Washington, DC on Saturday, Feb.22, and several large cities have planned activities such as rallies, demonstrations, requiems and prayers over the weekend and today.

Meanwhile, the new Trump administration not only turned 180 on providing aid to Ukraine in its defense against Russia, but has completely aligned itself with Putin. Trump has called President Zelenskyy of Ukraine a dictator who is avoiding the election and therefore is illegitimate. Trump also suggested that Ukraine started the war. This is pure Putin's rhetoric, directly lifted from his playbook. Zelenskyy called their bluff and said he is ready to step down as the president if Ukraine is given a chance to join NATO and to find a war resolution that will work for Ukraine.

But this is not what Trump and Putin truly want. They want Ukraine to completely surrender to Russia and to share in its riches. In line with that goal, Trump has started a direct extortion campaign to get access to Ukraine's minerals to "pay back the debt" for the aid Ukraine received under the Biden administration.

To put it in more understandable terms, this is what is happening: a woman battered and raped by her ex-partner ran to a policeman for help. The policeman first gave her a baseball bat so that she could protect herself against the knives and guns her ex was using, checking on her from time to time and sneaking in a new bat, all because he didn't want to alienate and aggravate the ex. Then a new policeman came in after the old one retired. The new cop reevaluated the situation and determined it was the woman's fault (shouldn't have started it) and openly started to play for the abuser. Moreover, now the new cop demands that the woman gets up after a night of battery and rape, cleans herself up, pawns her jewelry to cover the cost of his visits and gets a job so that she could pay back for all the bats the old policeman gave her. Thus, the new cop made the previous allocation of bats the woman's official "debt" and put it on the dividend meter he calls the woman's "restoration fund."

My good friend and expert on Putin's raiding and extortionist schemes Evgeniy Yuriev has published a thorough analysis of what is truly going on with the Trump's "Mineral Deal for Ukraine." I'm publishing it here in its entirety.

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So, the amusement ride of extreme brazenness continues.

There are already assessments that America has "softened its position" on extorting Ukraine's national wealth, having sent out yet another shill, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose "clarifications" have been published in the Financial Times.

No, the original position has only become clearer if we strip the main theses of demagoguery and "glittering generalities."

First, let’s read everything through, along with the manipulative packaging (I took the summary of the Financial Times article from Carina Cockrell-Ferre):

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent:

1. As part of an agreement with Ukraine, the U.S. wants to gain control over the country's reconstruction fund.

2. Economic partnership will protect the Ukrainian people and U.S. taxpayers, the official stated in the Financial Times article.

3. This partnership will benefit both countries.

4. It will support the unwavering commitment of the U.S. (!) to the people of Ukraine and lay the foundation for large-scale economic reconstruction.

5. Ukraine has natural resources and other national assets that can drive its economic growth after the war, but only if the government and citizens receive sufficient capital, expertise, and the right incentives.

6. The terms of our partnership stipulate that revenues the Ukrainian government receives from natural resources, infrastructure, and other assets will be directed into a fund focused on Ukraine’s long-term recovery and development.

7. The U.S. will have economic and managerial rights in future investments of this fund. This structure and relationship ensure high standards of transparency, accountability, corporate governance, and legal mechanisms necessary to attract private investment in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.

8. U.S. participation will leave no room for corruption or backroom deals. This also sends a clear signal to Russia: the U.S. has long-term interests in a free and prosperous Ukraine.

9. The more successful and secure Ukraine is after the war, the more both the Ukrainian people and the American people will benefit.

10. It was the Ukrainian president who first proposed to President Trump a future economic partnership that would bring mutual benefits to both states.

11. According to the Treasury Secretary, the U.S. is not offering Ukraine to give up its mineral resources or go into debt; the terms of the mineral agreement are designed to prevent corruption in Ukraine’s reconstruction.

12. According to him, the mineral deal "will lay the foundation for a powerful renewal of Ukraine’s economy."

13. "The terms of this partnership will mobilize American talent, capital, high standards, and governance to accelerate Ukraine’s recovery and send Russia a clear signal that the U.S. is investing in a free and prosperous Ukraine for the long term."

14. Revenues will be reinvested back into key sectors aimed at unlocking more of Ukraine’s growth potential. The terms of this agreement also ensure that countries that did not contribute to defending Ukraine’s sovereignty will not benefit from its reconstruction or these investments.

15. Zelenskyy wants to meet with Trump next week in Washington to personally discuss the mineral deal.

Now, let's strip away the fluff.

(I have highlighted the "glittering" points in the comments—take a look at how funny they are in their pure, distilled, form.)

The core message remains:

• As part of an agreement with Ukraine, the U.S. wants to gain control over the country’s reconstruction fund.

• Ukraine has natural resources and other national assets that can drive its economic growth after the war.

• Revenues that Ukraine receives from natural resources, infrastructure, and other assets will be directed into this fund, which is focused on reconstruction and development.

• The U.S. will have economic and managerial rights in future investments of this fund.

• This structure and relationship are proposed to ensure high standards of transparency, accountability, corporate governance, and legal mechanisms necessary to attract private investment in Ukraine’s post-war recovery.

• U.S. participation is necessary to prevent corruption and backroom deals.

• Revenues will be reinvested into key sectors aimed at unlocking more of Ukraine’s growth potential.

What does this mean?

Ukraine, in this project (and there will be others with different schemes), is being offered not to receive reparations extracted with the help of the U.S. from the aggressor state [Russia], not to receive investments for reconstruction from the U.S. or other countries, but to finance its own recovery by extracting and selling its own natural resources.

However, the U.S. is inserting itself into the equation, taking a monopoly over the management of these resources belonging to a war-ravaged country. Monopoly means that even Ukraine itself is being sidelined from the management of its own resources.

Quite a crafty financial scheme, isn’t it? A country gets attacked and beaten down, forced to sell off everything it owns, and then hands it over to Uncle Sam, who returns a portion after deducting "operational costs," of course.

How does the U.S. gain control?

1. By acquiring a share in the fund through a fictitious contribution.

Ukraine contributes real money—actually, obligations to direct revenues from resource extraction and sales into the fund until a massive sum is reached. The U.S., however, "contributes" previously unconditional aid that it now demands be converted into Ukraine’s debt. That is, it issues a promissory note extracted from Ukraine itself.

So, the U.S. is not putting in any money. At the same time, it demands that its past aid be re-evaluated at a 1:5 ratio — America gave $70 billion unconditionally, but now demands a promissory note worth $350 billion. And that’s just one of the exposed fraudulent calculations.

This debt agreement is being pushed through by Trump personally.

Any lawyer, auditor, accountant, or financial crime investigator knows that artificially inflating one's stake in a capital fund without making a real contribution is classic financial fraud. I could explain this in professional terms, but this is a public article.

By the way, remember the initial deception around rare earth minerals? Initially, people assumed Ukraine would receive military aid in exchange for resources — immediately, to win the war. However, no such promise was ever made — it was just a media-manipulated assumption. Now, the truth is out: no mention of weapons or security guarantees.

2. By taking managerial control over the fund.

In practice, such cases involve the creation of a Management Company, which will be registered in U.S. jurisdiction and be a U.S. entity. As is common practice, this will be a private company with highly corruptible U.S. officials involved. The U.S. government itself is just a facade for such projects.

There will be no American personnel or assets physically present in Ukraine due to high country risks (military attacks, social unrest after forced capitulation, etc.), because, as mentioned earlier, no actual American money will be in the fund.

Thus, the claim "this sends a clear signal to Russia that the U.S. has long-term interests in a free and prosperous Ukraine" is a LIE.

In reality, the financial structure (zero U.S. money) and the management setup send a clear signal to Russia: America has no investments or risks in this project. Even if Russia continues destroying Ukraine, it only increases Ukraine's obligations to replenish the fund—and, consequently, American demands and leverage.

This is a textbook example of profit maximization and control with zero risk or responsibility.

In short:

• Ukraine receives no military aid in return for its minerals.

• The U.S. takes over management of Ukraine’s resources.

• The “reconstruction” fund becomes a conduit for extracting Ukraine’s wealth, potentially even benefiting Russia in the long run.

• The goal is not Ukraine's recovery, but financial domination.

If Zelensky signs something ambiguous or something that doesn’t directly involve weapons supplies, it’s over — Ukraine’s full-scale capitulation will have been signed by his own hand. And Putin will have it in his pocket — even no sham election in Ukraine will be needed.

By Evgeniy Yuriev, Feb.22, 2025