From Aid to Looting: Justice and Sovereignty Issues in the Ukraine–U.S. Mineral Deal

Authors

Petra Gümplova, Friedrich Schiller University of JenaFollow

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7431-748X

Keywords

Ukraine, United States, aid, sovereignty, critical minerals

Document Type

Commentary

Abstract

This essay identifies three central moral and political issues with the the Ukraine–U.S. Mineral Deal. First, by linking financial and military assistance to access to Ukraine’s natural resources, the deal entrenches a form of resource conditionality that is highly problematic from the moral standpoint of international justice and other ethical principles. Second, the absence of a commitment to a just peace—including the restoration of territorial integrity, reparations, and security guarantees—renders the conditions for secure, long-term investment in Ukraine’s extractive economy a distant prospect, while raising the risk that a substantial portion of Ukraine’s resource wealth unlawfully seized by Russia will not be recovered. Third, the agreement introduces risks of external influence or control over Ukraine’s natural resource governance and investment priorities, posing a significant threat to its economic sovereignty.

Recommended Citation

Gümplova, Petra (2025) "From Aid to Looting: Justice and Sovereignty Issues in the Ukraine–U.S. Mineral Deal," Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis: Vol. 4: Iss. 3, Article 15.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55533/2765-8414.1140
Available at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/emancipations/vol4/iss3/15