The Ukrainian leader reportedly tried to identify who published the details about the draft minerals deal
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has made ministerial staffers take lie detector tests in an effort to find out who leaked the draft of the minerals deal with the US, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday, citing government officials.
According to FT, the tests had been administered across several ministries after Zelensky instructed Ukraine’s domestic security service to investigate the leak.
The draft, which was first reported by opposition Ukrainian MP Jaroslav Zheleznyak, outlined the mechanism for the US to manage revenues from oil, gas, and mineral projects. Ukrainian officials told FT that they were “caught off guard” by the scope of the latest American demands.
US President Donald Trump has been trying to persuade Kiev to sign the minerals agreement since February. At the same time, he refused to provide specific security guarantees to Ukraine, arguing that joint business ventures would be enough to deter Russia.
Earlier this week, Trump accused Zelensky of “trying to back out” of the deal and warned that he would face “big problems” if the agreement failed to come through. Speaking to CNN, he reiterated that Ukraine will “never be a member of NATO.”
The attempt to sign a deal in late February was aborted after Zelensky’s heated argument with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the White House.
The US planned to sign the deal during Zelensky’s visit to the White House in late February. “He got to the Oval Office and blew up what should have been the easiest thing to do in the world,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson published on Friday.
