MARCH 9, 2025 | OPINION | By Anonymous
*Disclaimer: In the wake of Donald Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and mentions to terminate the legal status of Ukrainians, The Catalyst has allowed the author to write under an anonymous byline.*
I am Ukrainian.
I was born and raised in a small town next to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. I have seen the atrocities of war, the brutal and inhumane things Russia has done to my people and the international support we have been receiving since the beginning of the war in 2014. What happened in the Oval Office on Feb. 28 between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is outrageous to say the least.
In this article, I want to offer my thoughts, emotions, and, most importantly, the facts in response to the words of President Trump and Vice President JD Vance last week.
Trump is obsessed with dominating any field he is in. Since he is now the president of the United States, this obsession has spread to the international plane. China is a key player in the discourse about the mineral deal with Ukraine since it is the current leader in the mining industry. The US is far behind in the second spot, making just one-sixth of China’s annual mining output. For Trump, this is unacceptable, and he will go to great lengths to achieve something as unrealistic as becoming the number one in producing rare earth minerals. We already see the impacts of this in the new management of public lands. Besides concerns for maintenance and operation hours, people are worried that national parks could be repurposed for strip mining as much of the public lands have not been used for commercial purposes and could contain “valuable” resources. As Trump said, “What we do have is protected by the environmentalists, but that can be unprotected.”
Ukraine holds about 5% of the world’s rare earth minerals and does not have the industrial capacity to mine even half of them; the mining infrastructure established under the Soviet Union is not sustainable in the long term.
So, the mineral deal is valuable for the United States to decrease its dependence on China and for Ukraine to get security guarantees in return. At least that was the expectation.
The first draft of the mineral deal didn’t mention any security guarantees for Ukraine. None. That’s where things start to get interesting.
The first question from the journalists in the Oval Office was about how much money the U.S. plans to put into the Ukrainian-American fund and what security guarantees will entail.
“Well, we don’t know exactly how much… we are gonna be putting some money in a fund that we’re gonna get from the raw earth,” said Trump. “I think once we make the agreement that’s going to be 95% of it [security guarantees]…”
In his response to the press, Trump expressed that he trusts President Putin and that if American companies and people are mining on Ukrainian territory, Russian troops won’t attack those parts of land. In his interview with Fox News, the day after the meeting in the Oval Office, President Zelensky argued that there could be no trust in the person who is already attacking Ukrainian land with American companies on it and killing American soldiers fighting on the ground in Ukraine.
Zelensky knows that he can’t sell his country to the American mining industry while soldiers die in the name of world democracy and peace every single day. Without denying the immense help and support from the United States (contrary to Trump’s and Vance’s claims), he calmly demands that Ukraine be guaranteed long-term peace.
So, how did Trump, JD Vance and the press pool react?
In the poorest manner American diplomacy has seen. Trump spread disinformation about the United States sending $500 billion of aid and downplayed Europe’s influence on the war with their support. The journalists picked by the White House shifted focus to President Zelensky’s “unprofessional” attire and proceeded to bully him for that. Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for the support provided by the United States.
With all of that said, Trump’s answer to the question from a journalist remains the same:
“Does that mean you will provide security guarantees, Mr. President?” asks a journalist.
“I don’t wanna talk about security yet cause I wanna get the deal done,” Trump responds.
The Oval Office showdown resulted in increased tension in the US-Ukraine diplomatic relations but spawned increased public support from the American people. In light of Trump suspending all foreign humanitarian aid in early February and all military aid to Ukraine on March 3, Ukrainians rely on individual people and smaller communities for financial and ideological support.
Some ways to express your support include participating in protests and demonstrations, contacting your representatives and supporting pro-Ukrainian candidates in your local elections.
Find a local group to learn more about Ukraine, organize fundraising or educational events and support the community of Ukrainian refugees if there is one in your hometown. At Colorado College, you can attend events organized by Ukrainian students, reach out to your peers and check out literature about Ukraine from the Tutt Library.
To commemorate the third anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukrainian students at CC have ordered new books on Ukraine’s history written by Ukrainians and Americans, as well as Ukrainian novels and poetry translated into English.
To make it easier to express your support to your local representative, the American Coalition for Ukraine has a guideline on how to contact your local politicians and the message you could send. You don’t have to write anything yourself; just send an email to your representative to make sure that more American voices get heard.
The Kyiv School of Economics created a list of companies that are still operating in Russia and financially contributing to the war in Ukraine. Refusing to buy just one company’s products on this list will positively contribute to Ukrainian efforts to fight Russian economic influence.
The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s fastest-growing English-language media outlet, created a list of Ukrainian businesses you could support by buying their products as gifts to your family or friends. Now when your friend has a birthday coming up, you don’t have to worry about choosing a present.
Ukraine has many organizations that care for the needs of soldiers, civilians, and refugees. Consider donating at least once or getting a subscription to donate regularly. Any support counts, and a single dollar might be the amount someone needs to finish raising funds for an evacuation ambulance, night visors, or food for animal shelters. You don’t have to donate to the military to support Ukraine and its people.
Organizations you can donate to to support Ukraine:
- Come Back Alive is a non-governmental organization that aims to strengthen Ukraine’s security and defense sector. This organization trains specialists to be most effective in combat and military management, receives and distributes necessary defense units, and supports the veterans.
- Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation is one of the largest foundations covering the needs of people in Ukraine. Whether you would like to support the demining of Ukrainian land, healthcare, military or any other group of people, this foundation will provide you with such an opportunity.
- Hospitallers is a medical battalion that needs medical supplies, ambulances, and specialized equipment to treat, evacuate, and save soldiers on the front lines. It is a reliable, crucial, and life-saving part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- Razom for Ukraine is a US-based non-profit dedicated to supporting and promoting Ukrainian civil society and culture with humanitarian aid and advocacy.
- Mriya is a non-profit founded by my friend, a Ukrainian student at MIT. People in this organisation go a long way to ensure that your help is delivered to the very people who need it and are always happy to provide you with any information about Ukraine.
Ukraine is worth fighting for. It is a beautiful land with great people who never wanted anything but peace and separation from Russia. Your support matters because we will keep fighting against any odds to preserve our country, language, culture and democracy in the world. Slava Ukraini.