The Economist calculated how many years Ukraine will need to repay its debt to the U.S. with resources

Ukraine will need hundreds of years to repay the declared U.S. debt of half a trillion dollars for military aid using its natural resources.

These calculations were made by the British magazine The Economist.

According to the publication’s sources, the latest version of the mineral agreement proposed by the U.S. suggests that Ukraine create a fund where it would transfer half of its future state revenues from natural resources and infrastructure, such as ports, until the fund reaches $500 billion. The New York Times has also reported on this fund.

“At the current rate of government revenues, this would take hundreds of years. It would be a colossal burden for a small and poor country, more than twice Ukraine’s entire GDP,” the publication commented.

A Ukrainian official stated, “If we sign this in its current form, we will be thrown out of office tomorrow and lynched by an enraged crowd.”

He revealed that when Ukraine refused to sign the first version of the agreement, Donald Trump “sent a very high-ranking guy who speaks only in numbers, without emotions, without sympathy, without anything.” According to him, “implicit threats” were made, and the tone was “patronizing.”

“The Americans said: this is a love deal. We care about you, but you don’t want to get into trouble,” the Ukrainian source reported.

Ukrainian officials describe the mineral negotiations as extortion. The U.S. has changed the terms of the deal three times—going from bad to better, then to catastrophic. The latest proposal, put forward by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, demands the transfer of resources without a guarantee of military assistance.

The publication suggests that if Ukraine refuses to sign the second version of the agreement, it may face restrictions, such as being cut off from Starlink.

“And that’s not even the worst that could happen. Everything that follows will be even worse,” the Ukrainian source concluded.