MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Protesters are holding a rally near the US embassy in Kiev against an ‘enslaving’ deal with Washington on rare-earth minerals, the UNIAN news agency reported.

According to it, only a few demonstrators are taking part in the rally. The news agency posted the photos of the event on its Telegram channel. There are several protesters and a dozen of law enforcement officers. The rally is aimed at delaying the signing of the agreement until the conflict with Russia is over, as well as including security guarantees for Kiev in the document.

In early February, US President Donald Trump said that Washington was interested in obtaining rare-earth minerals from Ukraine. On February 12, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent handed the text of the mineral deal to Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev. Although Zelensky had previously indicated his willingness to conclude the deal, the document was never signed. Kiev's refusal to sign led to a deterioration in the US-Ukraine relations. However, the sides continued to work on the document, and there were statements from Washington that Ukraine would sign the agreement in the near future.

On Tuesday, Trump admitted that Zelensky could come to Washington on Friday, February 28, to sign the agreement. Zelensky himself said on February 23 that he did not want to sign the agreement because ten generations of Ukrainians would pay for it.