'This war is about money': Sen. Lindsey Graham says Ukraine can pay back United States through rare minerals

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Ukraine is the richest country in Europe when it comes to minerals and that President Donald Trump will "do a deal" to get the United States its money back.

The South Carolina senator spoke to Fox News' Sean Hannity last week and publicly stated that the Russia-Ukraine war is predominantly about the control of valuable mineral deposits, claiming it is the primary reason Russia decided to invade the eastern parts of Ukraine.

Hannity asked on his program why President Biden has allowed Ukraine to use ballistic missiles toward the end of the administration.

"Why is he giving them more money, and why is he doing all of this knowing that Donald Trump has a very different approach when he gets in office in two months?" Hannity asked.

Graham prefaced his response by saying that Ukraine would be a lot better off in late 2024 if Ukraine had been authorized to use the ballistic missiles earlier in the war, which has reached approximately 1,000 days of combat.

'Donald Trump's gonna do a deal to get our money back.'

"This war is about money," Graham revealed. "People don't talk much about it. But you know the richest country in all of Europe for rare-earth minerals is Ukraine. $2 to $7 trillion worth of minerals that are rare-earth minerals, very relevant to the 21st century," the senator added.

Graham claimed that Ukraine is ready to deal with the United States, not Russia, and therefore it is in Americans' best interest to make sure Russia "doesn't take over the place."

"It's the breadbasket of, really, the developing world. 50% of all the food going to Africa comes out of Ukraine. We can make money and have [an] economic relationship with Ukraine to be very beneficial to us with peace," Graham added. "So Donald Trump's gonna do a deal to get our money back, to enrich ourselves with rare-earth minerals, a good deal for Ukraine and us, and he's gonna bring peace," he continued.

Hannity then asked if Ukraine could pay America back the "hundreds of billions of dollars" it has already invested in the war, to which Graham clarified, "That's just a drop in the bucket," repeating that Ukraine is the most mineral-rich country in Europe.

"That's why Russia is there right now," Graham concluded.

However, Graham's numbers were different during an interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation" about 10 days prior.

During that appearance, Graham said Ukraine was sitting on about $10 to 12 trillion worth of "critical minerals," nearly double his later estimation.

The senator again affirmed that the Ukraine would be required to pay the United States back.

"[Trump] created a loan system. ... I don't wanna give that money and those assets to Putin to share with China," Graham told host Margaret Brennan.

The 69-year-old described the ending of the Russia-Ukraine war as a "very big deal" and called for the U.S. to help Ukraine "win" the war and "find a solution."

He reiterated that the Ukrainians are "sitting on a gold mine" that cannot be allowed to go to Russia or China.

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