Ukraine, US sign minerals deal sought by Trump

KYIV/WASHINGTON: Ukraine and the U.S. signed a deal heavily promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump that will give the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The two countries signed the accord in Washington after months of sometimes fraught negotiations, with uncertainty persisting until the last moment with word of an eleventh-hour snag.

The accord establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction as Trump tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia’s three-year-old war in Ukraine.

The agreement is central to Kyiv’s efforts to mend ties with Trump and the White House, which frayed after he took office in January. Ukrainian officials have hoped that the deal would ensure continued U.S. support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko were shown signing the agreement in a photo posted on X by the Treasury, which said the deal “clearly signals the Trump Administration’s commitment to a free, sovereign, prosperous Ukraine.”

Svyrydenko wrote on X that the accord provides for Washington to contribute to the fund.

“In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide NEW assistance – for example air defense systems for Ukraine,” she said. Washington did not directly address that suggestion.

The U.S. has been Ukraine’s single largest military donor since Russia’s 2022 invasion with aid of more than 64 billion euros ($72 billion), according to the Kiel Institute in Germany.

Before the signing, Trump repeated on Wednesday that the U.S. should get something for its aid to Kyiv, thus the effort to secure a deal for Ukraine’s plentiful deposits of rare earth minerals.

In announcing the deal, the U.S. Treasury said the partnership recognized “the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion.”

Svyrydenko said the accord allowed Ukraine to “determine what and where to extract” and that its subsoil remains owned by Ukraine.

Ukraine is rich in natural resources including rare earth metals which are used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and military applications, among others. Global rare-earth mining is currently dominated by China, which is locked in a trade war with the U.S. after Trump’s sharp tariff increases.

Ukraine also has large reserves of iron, uranium and natural gas.

Svyrydenko said Ukraine has no debt obligations to the United States under the agreement, a key point in the lengthy negotiations between the two countries.

The deal also, she said, complied with Ukraine’s constitution and Ukraine’s campaign to join the European Union, key elements in Ukraine’s negotiating position.

The minerals deal and U.S. peace efforts have been negotiated separately but reflect Washington’s approach to Ukraine and Russia. Trump has upended U.S. policy by softening the U.S. stance toward Russia and sometimes falsely blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the war.

U.S. peace proposals have called for recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and potentially four other Ukrainian regions. Zelenskiy has said Kyiv would never do so because it would contravene Ukraine’s constitution.

“Importantly, the Agreement sends a signal to global partners that long-term cooperation with Ukraine – over decades – is not only possible but reliable,” Svyrydenko said on X.

A draft of the U.S.-Ukraine agreement seen by Reuters earlier on Wednesday showed Ukraine secured the removal of any requirement for it to pay back the U.S. for past military assistance, something Kyiv had staunchly opposed.

The draft did not provide any concrete U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, one of its initial goals.

Separately, Ukraine has discussed with European allies the forming of an international force to help ensure Ukraine’s security if a peace agreement is reached with Russia.