The United States (US) has demanded control of a key gas pipeline in Ukraine used to send Russian gas to Europe, reports show, in a move described as "colonial extortion", writes the British newspaper The Guardian.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials met on Friday to discuss White House proposals for a minerals deal. U.S. President Donald Trump wants Kiev to hand over its natural resources in exchange for weapons supplied by the administration of former U.S. President Joseph Biden.
The talks have become increasingly heated, Reuters news agency reported, according to The Guardian.
The latest US draft is "maximalist" than the original version from February, which proposed giving Washington $500 billion in rare metals, as well as oil and gas.
Citing a source close to the talks, the news agency said the latest document includes a request for the US government's International Development Finance Corporation to take control of the pipeline.
It stretches from the city of Sudzhe in western Russia to the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, about 750 miles (1.200 km) away, on the border with the European Union (EU) and Slovakia. Built during the Soviet era, the pipeline is a key part of the national infrastructure and a major energy route.
Ukraine cut off gas supplies on January 1 when a five-year contract with Russian state energy company Gazprom expired. Both countries had previously earned hundreds of millions of euros in transit fees, including during the first three years of the full-scale war.
Volodymyr Landa, senior economist at the Center for Economic Strategy, a think tank in Kiev, said the Americans want "everything they can get."
"Their bullying, colonial-style demands had little chance of being accepted by Kiev," he said.
Last fall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed giving the United States access to Ukraine's underdeveloped mineral sector. He envisioned a deal in which the incoming Trump administration would supply Ukraine with weapons in exchange for future profits from joint investments.
Instead, Trump has refused to provide security guarantees or military support, but he still wants the minerals. Last week, he complained that Zelensky was trying to "pull the deal" and said the Ukrainian president would have "big problems" if he didn't sign.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Zelensky said he was ready to make a deal to modernize his country, but that Ukraine could only agree if there was "parity" between the two sides, with a "50-50" revenue split.
"I'm just defending what belongs to Ukraine. This should be beneficial for both the United States and Ukraine. This is the right thing to do," Zelensky said.
The US Treasury Department confirmed that "technical" talks are underway.
Meanwhile, US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said his statements about the possible division of Ukraine had been misinterpreted.
In an interview with The Times, Kellogg said the country could be divided "almost like Berlin after World War II" as part of a peace agreement.
Writing on the X network, Kellogg said he was referring to "fire-resistant forces after the break in order to support Ukraine's sovereignty."
Under this plan, Russian troops would remain in the territory already occupied by Moscow, with British and French forces stationed in Kiev and other parts of the country.
On Friday, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Vitkoff's solution to the conflict would be to give Russia the four Ukrainian regions it demands – including territory controlled by Ukraine that is home to a million people.
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Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Ukrainian defense contact group on Friday, Kiev's allies announced a record 21 billion euros in additional military aid. They accused Putin of stalling on a 30-day ceasefire agreement that Ukraine has accepted.
Russia carried out fresh air strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets early Saturday. Three warehouses were destroyed in Kiev and two people were injured. The Kremlin has fired 70 missiles and 2.200 drones into Ukraine since a US-proposed ceasefire on March 11, Ukrainian officials said.
Zelenskyy on Saturday paid tribute to 26-year-old pilot Captain Pavlo Ivanov, who died during an F-16 combat mission.
"The small Ukrainian Air Force is heroically defending the country from Russian missiles and drones and supporting ground operations," he said.
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