Media: Ukraine Grants Development Rights to a Large Lithium Mine to a Close Friend of Trump
The New York Times reported on January 9 that Ukraine has granted a U.S. investment group the rights to develop a large lithium mine in Kirovohrad Oblast, with the group including billionaire Ronald Lauder, a friend of President Donald Trump.
In August 2025, then-Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko announced a tender for the mining of lithium in Kirovohrad Oblast, aiming to attract investments from funds established under the mineral agreement reached with the United States.
The report stated: "On January 8, Ukraine awarded the development bidding for a large state-owned lithium mine to a group of investors, including a billionaire and a friend of President Trump... The 'Dobra' lithium mine located in central Ukraine is one of the largest lithium mines in the country."
The Ronald Lauder mentioned in the report is an heir to a cosmetics empire and has known Trump since university days. The report also states that it was Lauder who "proposed to Trump the idea of purchasing the resource-rich Greenland."
The report also noted that another investor is an energy company (TechMet), partially owned by a U.S. government investment agency created during Trump's first term.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1853853928220867/
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