It was an idea Volodymyr Zelenskyy thought would stir Donald Trump’s interest in backing Ukraine: an offer for the US to gain special access to his country’s abundant natural resources.
When Ukraine’s president pitched the plan in Trump Tower to Trump, then the Republican candidate, the first signs were promising. Despite dismissing Zelenskyy days earlier as “the greatest salesman in history” for convincing the US to bankroll his defence of Ukraine, Trump responded with “interest”, said people who were present in the September meeting.
Little did they imagine just how ruthlessly interested Trump would be in Ukraine’s minerals — or how catastrophic the negotiations would threaten to become for Kyiv, its president, and the prospects of holding off Russia’s invasion.