U.S. and Ukraine sign landmark minerals deal amid push for peace

The United States and Ukraine have signed a sweeping economic partnership agreement focused on developing Ukraine’s mineral resources, as the Trump administration pushes for a long-term peace plan more than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Announced Wednesday, the agreement commits Washington and Kyiv to launching a joint investment fund aimed at rebuilding Ukraine and tapping into the country’s vast reserves of critical minerals—resources seen as vital to modern manufacturing and defense.

“As the President has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated. “This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.”

Under the deal, the U.S. will assist in the development of Ukraine’s natural resources, including oil, gas, and rare earth elements. While American companies will have access to exploration opportunities, Ukraine emphasized that it will retain full control over its national resources, and state-owned enterprises will remain publicly owned.

According to the agreement’s outline, the U.S. will contribute to the fund either through direct financial investment or by expanding military assistance. Ukraine, in turn, has committed to directing 50% of future revenues from mineral royalties and exploration licenses into the reconstruction effort.

A strategic milestone

The signing comes shortly after President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met privately at Pope Francis’ funeral in Vatican City. Sources familiar with the talks say Trump pushed for urgency in sealing the deal as part of a broader post-war strategy to secure Ukraine’s stability and economic recovery.

“Maybe he [Putin] doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently,” Trump said in a social media post from Air Force One on his return to Washington.

At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said the agreement would help deter future aggression. “The American presence will, I think, keep a lot of bad actors out of the country—or certainly out of the area where we’re doing the digging,” he said.

A difficult road to agreement

Despite months of negotiations, the deal nearly collapsed more than once. A planned signing in February was derailed following a contentious Oval Office meeting. Even on Wednesday, delays surfaced when Ukraine initially hesitated to sign two technical side agreements tied to the main pact.

According to a U.S. official, the Treasury Department took a firm stance to finalize the deal, ultimately securing Ukraine’s approval after last-minute revisions.

Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who signed the agreement in Washington, hailed it as “a new stage in our cooperation with the U.S.”

“We are receiving not only investments, but also a strategic partner who will work with us on economic development and the introduction of innovations,” she said.

Ukraine also clarified that the agreement pertains to future cooperation and does not account for the roughly $120 billion in U.S. military aid already provided since 2022. “The agreement focuses on future, not past, U.S. military assistance,” a Ukrainian fact sheet stated.

Trump, however, has presented the deal as a mechanism for American taxpayers to recoup some of that wartime spending through joint economic gains.

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