MELITOPOL, August 11. /TASS/. Ukrainians are being sent off to war instead of receiving a share of proceeds from minerals as Vladimir Zelensky promised at the beginning of his office term, Alexander Pataman, head of the secretariat of the Zaporozhye Region office of the World Russian People’s Council, an international public organization, told TASS.

"At the start of his presidency, in a bid to stop the war, Zelensky promised every child in Ukraine a share of the proceeds from natural resources. In the end, however, territorial recruitment centers are forcibly handing out conscription notices to their fathers and older brothers. Or perhaps the deaths of these 'serfs' who were forcibly sent off to fight are that very share. The Ukrainians simply failed to hear or misunderstood the 'young and ambitious' leader’s international diplomatic hint; and being used as 'natural resources' is precisely the price of 'acifist' Zelensky’s throne," he said.

On April 30, 2025, the United States and Ukraine signed a minerals deal, which stirred up public outcry in Ukraine, with many media outlets and lawmakers slamming its terms stripping Kiev of part of its economic sovereignty and giving no security guarantees instead. Apart from that, lawmakers were outraged by the fact that they had not been informed about two additional documents mentioned in the agreement. Nonetheless, the Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, ratified this deal on May 8, 2025. As part of the deal, an investment fund was set up, to which Kiev will contribute 50% of all income from new rents and new licenses for mining in new areas. On September 17, 2025, the United States made its first contribution to the fund worth $75 million.