The Guardian view on the US and Ukraine: is the natural resources agreement a big deal? | Editorial

The White House calls it ‘historic’. A more realistic estimate is that while Ukraine is glad to sign, this is not a shift in the big pictureThe Trump administration, with its customary rhetorical inflation, has hailed its mineral deal with Ukraine as “historic”. What the world’s most powerful nation says and does matters. But how much? And for how long? This is a government of caprice and chaos – losing its national security adviser, Mike Waltz, on Thursday after only three months in the job. Attempting to connect the data points can be like trying to join up the bug splats on a windscreen. The real issue is that the vehicle is still following the signs for Moscow.This moment looks like a high because US-Ukraine ties hit such a low, particularly with the Oval Office bullying of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reports that Washington is willing to recognise annexed Crimea as Russian. Key details of this deal have yet to be finalised in a technical agreement. The idea originated with Kyiv, which saw that economic incentives might be the only way to interest the money-minded US president in its defence. The Trump administration decided the answer was, in essence, to take all the resources without granting the security guarantee that Ukraine had sought. It looked a bit like a protection racket, without ongoing protection.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

No time for a tax increase on small businesses

The week in whoppers: Michelle Obama whines over violent illegal-migrant deportations, Chuck Schumer shoots himself in the foot and more

37 minutes ago

Kamala Harris reminds everyone why we didn’t elect her president

PETER HITCHENS: Civilisation is teetering on the brink. I've seen the Hell on Earth when it happens - and how close we are should make you terrified

about 6 hours ago

I've noticed a worrying change with Graham Potter - this is what it reveals and why he can still get back to the top, writes IAN LADYMAN

about 6 hours ago

I once felt so ashamed of my fantasies of sex. That's why I'm jealous of porn star Lily Phillips: BRYONY GORDON

RICHARD EDEN: How William could retaliate against Meghan and Harry after they betrayed agreement with Queen, told to me by Palace insiders

about 12 hours ago

Letters: There's no need for electricity bills to be so high. We need zonal pricing

Prince Harry's charity Sentebale rocked by yet another resignation - leaving only three trustees just a month after Duke of Sussex and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho stepped down as its patrons, writes RICHARD EDEN

about 24 hours ago

Why turn Red Ohio Minnesota Blue when it comes to online college education?

Comments

Opinions

No time for a tax increase on small businesses

Spain's green energy triumph

Rogue judges are not above the law

LOVERRO: Capitals get over the first-round playoff hump

The week in whoppers: Michelle Obama whines over violent illegal-migrant deportations, Chuck Schumer shoots himself in the foot and more

Kamala Harris reminds everyone why we didn’t elect her president

Trump’s first 100 days: Letters to the Editor — May 2, 2025

Sanity returns as feds condemn transgender treatments for kids

Yet another woke judge goes lawless in move against Trump

Hackers hold-up at M&S: Silicon Valley has failed miserably on security, says ALEX BRUMMER

RICHARD EDEN: Meghan can't cook, insists star chef after legal threat

The FA has finally seen common sense and shown the red card to gender madness infecting sport

Common sense has finally returned so why don’t we call trans male athletes what they really are… cheats

Glastonbury pretends it’s the wokest place on Earth – but do they think it’s OK to murder Tories?

Letter to the editor: The Democrats won't change

Letter to the editor: We're all better off already

Letter to the editor: Amendment needed to rein in rogue judges

Can this built heritage war room save a crumbling Glasgow?

The First Minister does not get to decide who plays TRNSMT festival

Have we tried this novel idea that will close the attainment gap?

A bad Iran deal is worse than no deal, Mr. President

PETER HITCHENS: Civilisation is teetering on the brink. I've seen the Hell on Earth when it happens - and how close we are should make you terrified

I've noticed a worrying change with Graham Potter - this is what it reveals and why he can still get back to the top, writes IAN LADYMAN

I once felt so ashamed of my fantasies of sex. That's why I'm jealous of porn star Lily Phillips: BRYONY GORDON

Feckless Avanti bosses can’t run a train on time but are splashing cash on woke murals instead of improving service

Letters to the Editor: One possible consequence of President Trump's cuts to California library funding

Trump is right to ignore polls

RICHARD EDEN: How William could retaliate against Meghan and Harry after they betrayed agreement with Queen, told to me by Palace insiders

Letters: There's no need for electricity bills to be so high. We need zonal pricing

Last chance for SNP to deliver on key policies beckons

Stamp duty cut gave the housing market a sugar rush - now for the slump, says HELEN CRANE

Police being too scared to deal with grooming gangs means more British girls are being raped now than ever

Herald Diary: Trump's right-hand man is pretty smart, isn't he? Isn't he?

Neil Mackay: Working-class quotas and why we need a taste of social engineering

You could raise the Scottish Child Payment if you wanted to, Mr Swinney

Letters: Why all the fuss about sex and gender and toilets? This is a non-issue

Camley's cartoon on Scotland's ferries

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: This is the 37-man Lions squad that Andy Farrell should pick next week

SCOTUS needs to walk carefully in case of a religious charter school

Banning smartphones in schools is a win for Gov. Hochul and NY kids

STEPHEN GLOVER: Sack the most dangerous man in Britain before the lights go out!

Antetokounmpo faces big offseason question of whether to stay with Bucks or leave

Trump goes bold with plan to offset the sting of tariffs with major tax relief

The misguided economics of modern territorial ambitions

The arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan and an assault on the separation of powers

Defund NPR, a relic of a bygone era in a world of modern news options

Trump's tariffs are saving our factory from moving overseas

Trump's FTC is putting American companies last

Celebrity marriages are hard — Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce better be careful

Dr. Phil reveals why this Supreme Court case could upend religious freedom

Supporting Ukraine — peace deal or no — is in America’s best interest

Lefty judge’s illegal migrant aid: Letters to the Editor — May 1, 2025

Why I was wrong about Donald Trump — he’s a ‘strange attractor’ with a mission

Rocketing dud Sir Keir did well to answer the most boring man in Parliament, writes QUENTIN LETTS

Prince Harry's charity Sentebale rocked by yet another resignation - leaving only three trustees just a month after Duke of Sussex and co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho stepped down as its patrons, writes RICHARD EDEN

Why turn Red Ohio Minnesota Blue when it comes to online college education?

Simple truths for complex times: Advice to the next generation

White House Correspondents' Association dinner is officially dead

Fairfax County's high school dropout problem among its English language learning students

Let them eat oatmeal: A case for personal responsibility in America's entitled age