Ukraine said on Thursday that Kyiv and Washington had signed a memorandum as an initial step towards clinching an agreement on developing mineral resources in Ukraine, a deal promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump said the accord could be signed next week.
Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's first deputy prime minister and economy minister, wrote on social media that the memorandum had been signed.
"We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine," she wrote.
A Ukrainian delegation travelled to Washington at the end of last week for negotiations after the Trump administration offered a new, more expansive deal. The initial framework agreement that was agreed to has never been signed.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said: "We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday."
Trump has pushed for a compact that would allow the United States to have privileged access to Ukraine's natural resources and critical minerals in what he casts as repayment for military aid provided by Washington to Ukraine under former President Joe Biden.
Sitting alongside Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "we're still working on the details" and that the signing could come by next Friday.
"It's substantially what we'd agreed on previously," he said. "When the president was here, we had a memorandum of understanding. We went straight to the big deal, and I think it's an 80-page agreement and that's what we'll be signing."
The White House did not respond to a request for further details on the timing and contents of the agreement.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had said earlier that the two countries could sign the memorandum online later in the day.
"This is a memorandum of intent. And we have positive, constructive intentions," Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv.
He added that the offer to sign the memorandum before the comprehensive deal, which would require ratification in the Ukrainian parliament, had come from the U.S. side.
Svyrydenko earlier said that Kyiv and Washington had made significant progress while discussing the agreement, and the memorandum was the first stage to record this.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have stated that the United States will abandon efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine unless significant progress is made in the coming days.
Russia’s defense ministry has accused Ukraine of carrying out four separate attacks on its energy facilities within a 24-hour period, alleging violations of a U.S.-brokered moratorium aimed at preventing strikes on each other’s critical energy infrastructure.
A missile attack in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has resulted in casualties, adding to growing concerns over the intensifying conflict.
The Kremlin said Friday that some progress has been made in peace talks over Ukraine, but described communication with the U.S. as complicated. Moscow cited a pause in energy strikes, though it claims Ukraine hasn’t fully observed the agreement.
A drone strike hit a bakery in Ukraine's Sumy city early Friday, killing one person. The bakery was preparing traditional Easter cakes as Christian communities marked Good Friday. Officials condemned the attack as targeting civilians and culture.
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the border area between Afghanistan and Tajikistan on Saturday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The earthquake occurred at a depth of 92 kilometers (57 miles).
Japan is contemplating offering concessions in the form of increased soybean and rice imports as part of ongoing trade negotiations with the United States, according to a report by the Yomiuri daily on Saturday.
Mexico's Health Ministry confirmed the country's first human case of myiasis caused by screwworm, a parasitic infection, the government reported on Friday. The case was detected in a 77-year-old woman from Acacoyagua, a municipality in the southern state of Chiapas.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have stated that the United States will abandon efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine unless significant progress is made in the coming days.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for April 19th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The Russian ruble has emerged as the top-performing currency globally in 2025, registering an impressive 38% appreciation against the US dollar since the beginning of the year, according to a report by Bloomberg.
A small plane crashed near Kopake, New York, on April 13, killing at 6 people. The Mitsubishi MU-2B aircraft, carrying six people, went down under unclear circumstances. This marks the second aviation accident in New York in a week, raising safety concerns.
Several regions in Ukraine faced heightened alert on Palm Sunday, as reports of explosions and missile threats drew public attention and official responses.
Severe rainfall on April 17 led to flooding and landslides in the Piedmont region, prompting a large-scale emergency response from over 400 firefighters.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for April 16th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday his plan to reclassify approximately 50,000 federal workers under a new category, "Schedule Policy/Career," which would make it easier to fire civil servants who do not align with his administration's policy agenda.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order early Saturday blocking the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members from Texas under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law from 1798.
At least 17 people were killed when suspected cattle herders launched attacks on communities in central Nigeria's Benue State on Thursday, police confirmed. The assault is part of a worrying resurgence in violent clashes between farmers and herders, which have long plagued the region.
In a groundbreaking event, China hosted the world’s first humanoid robot race, where robots and humans competed side by side. The competition saw Chinese-made Tien Kung Ultra emerge victorious in the half-marathon, completing the 21-kilometer course in an impressive 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Japan is contemplating offering concessions in the form of increased soybean and rice imports as part of ongoing trade negotiations with the United States, according to a report by the Yomiuri daily on Saturday.
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the border area between Afghanistan and Tajikistan on Saturday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The earthquake occurred at a depth of 92 kilometers (57 miles).
Japan is contemplating offering concessions in the form of increased soybean and rice imports as part of ongoing trade negotiations with the United States, according to a report by the Yomiuri daily on Saturday.
Mexico's Health Ministry confirmed the country's first human case of myiasis caused by screwworm, a parasitic infection, the government reported on Friday. The case was detected in a 77-year-old woman from Acacoyagua, a municipality in the southern state of Chiapas.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have stated that the United States will abandon efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine unless significant progress is made in the coming days.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for April 19th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment