France has been discussing development of Ukrainian mineral resources for its defence industry since autumn

French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stated that since October 2024, France has been discussing with Ukraine the use of Ukrainian mineral resources for the French defence industry.

As reported by France Info, Lecornu noted that France had been working on this issue for several months, starting from "last autumn" when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy included raw materials in his "victory plan" during his visit to Paris.

Lecornu said that Zelenskyy made "a number of proposals not only to the United States but also to France".

"President Zelenskyy and his team saw that the issue of raw materials could be one of the elements of an agreement with us to create resilience. So, President Trump did not completely invent this – it was the Ukrainians themselves who initiated it.

We will need a range of key raw materials for our own weapons systems not just next year but over the next 30-40 years," Lecornu said.

Lecornu stated that French President Emmanuel Macron had asked him "to engage in discussions with the Ukrainians".

"Whether we like it or not, economic issues are always intertwined with military, strategic or security matters. In any case, this is particularly true for energy," he added.

On 26 February, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (the Ukrainian government) approved the decision required for the signing of an agreement between Ukraine and the US on the use of mineral resources.

Read also: The full text of the Ukraine-US Minerals Agreement