About 20 countries are interested in joining a "coalition of the willing" to help Ukraine, according to UK officials. It is not thought every one of the countries, which are largely from Europe and the Commonwealth, would necessarily send troops but some could provide other support.

Ukraine does have other valuable commodities that don’t fall specifically in the rare earth element bucket but the U.S. still identifies as critical, such as graphite and titanium, according to Baskaran. The country also has produced manganese and has the “potential for reserves” of uranium and lithium, Bazilian says.

European leaders will once again try to grasp control of negotiations over the war in Ukraine on Thursday, in an increasingly frantic tug-of-war against the US and Russia that could be nearing a climax.

Ukraine is continuing to make good progress in implementing structural reforms, but its economic outlook remains exceptionally uncertain given its ongoing war against Russia's invasion, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

European Union leaders are holding emergency talks on how to quickly increase their military budgets after the Trump administration suspended assistance to Ukraine.

As the Trump administration pressures Volodymyr Zelensky to engage in peace talks, commanders fear their Starlink battlefield internet could be the next victim.