Amid talk of 'aid for rare earths' between Trump and Zelenskyy, Russia captures two more villages in Ukraine

Russia said Wednesday (January 5) that its forces have seized two more villages in eastern and northeastern Ukraine as the war approaches its third anniversary.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its troops took Novomlynsk, a village in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have crossed the Oskil River. The river previously separated the two armies, but Russian troops have now established a bridgehead and gained ground in the area.

The ministry also said Russian forces captured Baranivka, north of Ocheretyne, where intense fighting has continued for months.

Moscow has regularly claimed the capture of villages in eastern Ukraine as part of its slow-moving offensive.

Although both sides are seeking to gain ground ahead of possible peace talks, Ukraine has struggled to fend off Moscow’s larger forces, which have been making steady advances in the country’s east for months.

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'Significant part of Ukraine wants to be Russian', says Kremlin Why Trump wants Ukraine minerals in exchange of military aid

‘Aid for rare earth minerals’

The latest battlefield developments come amid reports that the United States, under President Donald Trump, is considering trading military aid to Kyiv in exchange for access to Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth metals, key materials used in electronics.

A US Geological Survey report has highlighted America’s reliance on imports for critical minerals, with China leading global production of rare earth elements.

Ukraine holds an estimated 111 billion metric tons of mineral resources worth $14.8 trillion, according to a Forbes report from April 2023. However, more than 70 per cent of these resources, including coal and iron ore, are in Donetsk and Luhansk, regions partly controlled by Russia, as well as Dnipropetrovsk, where Russian forces are advancing.

Ukraine also has 33 million metric tons of lithium ore, valued at $38 billion. Russian forces are pushing toward the Shevchenkivske lithium deposit in Donetsk and have already captured another lithium deposit in Kruta Balka, in the Zaporizhzhia region.

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For months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of targeting Ukraine’s vast mineral wealth as part of its war strategy, a claim supported by Western intelligence assessments.