The United States threatens Ukraine: “Internet will be cut off” if no agreement is signed!

On the 21st, US President Trump said that the United States hopes to sign an agreement with Ukraine to develop Ukrainian minerals as soon as possible, so as to recover “the $400 billion to $500 billion spent on Ukraine.” According to people familiar with the matter, US negotiators recently threatened Ukraine that if the agreement is not signed as soon as possible, the United States will prohibit Ukraine from continuing to use the “Starlink” satellite network service of the US Space Exploration Technology Company.

On the 21st, Trump said at the White House on the Ukraine issue that he had a “good talk” with Russian President Putin, but “not so good” with Ukraine, and Ukraine “did not have any cards, but acted very tough.” Regarding the signing of a mineral agreement with Ukraine, Trump said: “We hope to sign an agreement in the next fairly short time, which will ensure that we recover $400 billion to $500 billion.”

In a video speech on the 21st, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that the US-Ukraine team is drafting a mineral agreement, and Ukraine hopes that it will be a “fair result.” The US “Wall Street Journal” quoted sources as saying that the United States and Ukraine may sign a mineral agreement as early as the 22nd.

Zelensky had previously rejected a mineral agreement proposal put forward by the United States. He said at the time that the agreement proposed by the United States did not provide Ukraine with “security guarantees”, and “the only clear part is that Ukraine must hand over 50% of its mineral resources.” He also complained that during the Russian-Ukrainian war, the United States provided Ukraine with weapons and equipment worth about $67 billion and direct financial assistance of $31.5 billion, totaling less than $100 billion, but the Trump administration asked Ukraine to “repay $500 billion with minerals, etc.”

Reuters quoted three people familiar with the matter on the 21st as saying that the US negotiators threatened Ukraine that if it did not sign a mineral agreement as soon as possible, the United States would prohibit Ukraine from using the “Starlink” satellite network service. According to Reuters, “Starlink” provides vital network connection services for Ukraine and its military.

One of the people familiar with the matter revealed that Keith Kellogg, the US government’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Zelensky when he met with him in Ukraine on the 20th that if Ukraine did not sign a mineral agreement with the United States as soon as possible, Ukraine would be cut off from the “Starlink” satellite network service. “Ukraine relies on Starlink,” the person familiar with the matter said, and losing Starlink would be a “huge blow” to Ukraine.