The U.S. and Ukraine announced on Wednesday an economic agreement after a weekslong press by President Donald Trump on Ukraine to compensate Washington for billions in military and economic assistance to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video posted to X that “this partnership allows the United States to invest alongside Ukraine, to unlock Ukraine’s growth assets, mobilize American talent, capital and governance standards that will improve Ukraine’s investment climate and accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery.”
The announcement comes at a critical moment in the war as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with leaders of Russia and Ukraine with the brutal fighting dragging on.
The American president has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for steps that he said were prolonging the killing, and he has rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin for complicating negotiations with “very bad timing” in launching deadly strikes on Kyiv.
Trump on Saturday met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral.
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in a post on X celebrated the breakthrough.
“Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment to our country," she said.
The two sides offered only barebone details about the structure of the deal, but it is expected to give the U.S. access to its valuable rare minerals in the hopes of ensuring continued American support for Kyiv in its grinding war with Russia.
Ukraine's economy minister and deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, flew to Washington on Wednesday to help finalize the deal, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during an appearance on Ukrainian television. Although the main part of the agreement had been settled, there were still hurdles to overcome, said a senior Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
For Ukraine, the agreement is seen as key to ensuring its access to future U.S. military aid.
“Truly, this is a strategic deal for the creation of an investment partner fund,” Shmyhal said. "This is truly an equal and good international deal on joint investment in the development and restoration of Ukraine between the governments of the United States and Ukraine.”
Trump began his push for a deal in February that he wanted access to Ukraine’s rare earth materials as a condition for continued U.S. support in the war, describing it as reimbursement for the billions of dollars in aid the U.S. has given to Kyiv.
But talks stalled after a tense Oval Office meeting of U.S. and Ukrainian leaders, and reaching an agreement since then has proven difficult and strained relations between Washington and Kyiv.
Negotiations appeared to drag on until shortly before the two sides confirmed an agreement had been signed off on the deal.
Earlier Wednesday, Bessent said during a cabinet meeting at the White House — hours after Ukrainian officials indicated a deal was nearly finalized — that there was still work to do.
“The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last-minute changes," Bessent said when asked about reports that Ukraine was ready to agree to the pact. "We’re sure that they will reconsider that. And we are ready to sign this afternoon if they are.”
He didn't elaborate as to the late changes he said Ukraine made.
The U.S. has been seeking access to more than 20 raw materials deemed strategically critical to its interests, including some non-minerals such as oil and natural gas. Among them are Ukraine's deposits of titanium, which is used for making aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, and uranium, which is used for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons. Ukraine also has lithium, graphite and manganese, which are used in electric vehicle batteries.
After Kyiv felt the initial U.S. draft of the deal disproportionately favored American interests, it introduced new provisions aimed at addressing those concerns.
According to Shmyhal, the latest version would establish an equal partnership between the two countries and last for 10 years. Financial contributions to a joint fund would be made in cash, and only new U.S. military aid would count toward the American share. Assistance provided before the agreement was signed would not be counted. Unlike an earlier draft, the deal would not conflict with Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership — a key provision for Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Cabinet approved the agreement Wednesday, empowering Svyrydenko to sign it in Washington. Once signed by both sides, the deal would need to be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament before it could take effect.
Putin wants answers before committing to a ceasefire
The negotiations come amid rocky progress in Washington's push to stop the war.
Putin backs calls for a ceasefire before peace negotiations, “but before it’s done, it’s necessary to answer a few questions and sort out a few nuances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin is also ready for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions to seek a peace deal, he added.
“We realize that Washington wants to achieve quick progress, but we hope for understanding that the Ukrainian crisis settlement is far too complex to be done quickly,” Peskov said during his daily conference call with reporters.
Trump has expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress in negotiations aimed at stopping the war. Western European leaders have accused Putin of stalling while his forces seek to grab more Ukrainian land. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory since Moscow's forces launched a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Trump has long dismissed the war as a waste of lives and American taxpayer money — a complaint he repeated Wednesday during his Cabinet meeting. That could spell an end to crucial military help for Ukraine and heavier economic sanctions on Russia.
U.S. wants both sides to speed things up
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday tried again to push both sides to move more quickly and warned that the U.S. could pull out of the negotiations if there's no progress.
“We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict," department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce quoted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as telling her.
Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt to Ukraine’s mobilization effort and Western arms supplies to Kyiv.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Wednesday that Ukraine had accepted an unconditional truce only because it was being pushed back on the battlefield, where the bigger Russian forces have the upper hand.
U.N. says Ukrainian civilian casualties are on the rise
Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians have been killed or wounded in attacks every day this year, according to a U.N. report presented Tuesday in New York.
The U.N. Human Rights Office said in the report that in the first three months of this year, it had verified 2,641 civilian casualties in Ukraine. That was almost 900 more than during the same period last year.
Also, between April 1-24, civilian casualties in Ukraine were up 46% from the same weeks in 2024, it said.
The daily grind of the war shows no sign of letting up. A nighttime Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, wounded at least 45 civilians, Ukrainian officials said.
Also Wednesday, the Ukrainian Security Service claimed its drones struck the Murom Instrument Engineering Plant in Russia’s Vladimir region overnight, causing five explosions and a fire at the military facility. The claim could not be independently verified.
Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed reporting.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
51 Comments
TaiwanIsNotChina
I would think there would be huge question marks about whether the US providing anything at all as part of this deal. Fortunately a Trump successor can invalidate it.
wallace
The US-Ukraine mineral deal was signed. Joint trust fund with 50% of profits for the reconstruction of Ukraine. There is no payback for aid received by Ukraine. The American GDP fell during the first three months by 0.3%.
JJE
Cry harder.
No one has heard of an "unconditional ceasefire" in recorded human history.
Two factors, we now all know, will predicate Moscow applying substantial conditions on any ceasefire, let alone any theoretical future settlement. Firstly, the western-provoked nature of this conflict. Secondly, Russian forces undeniably have the initiative/advantage on the battlefront.
The fly in the ointment relating to this "mineral deal" is the rump of the strategic minerals are in the south-east (meaning Russian controlled zones or area likely to come under Russian control).
JJE
This conflict in Ukraine is not a self-contained event. It is the product of decades of NATO expansion, Western military-industrial escalation, and the relentless refusal of the West to accept a multipolar world. Ukraine, tragically, is not a sovereign protagonist in this story - it is a pawn.
The Ukraine is not economically sovereign. Its national budget is underwritten by Western lenders. Its economy is molded by IMF conditionalities. Its "development" model is designed to serve Western capital - not its own people.
This mineral deal is just the latest manifestation of the overall sovereignty sellout since 2014. It has become a client state of Washington, surviving on IMF loans, EU aid packages, and US military hardware. Its economic decisions are dictated by external creditors. Its war effort is sustained by Western arms. Its diplomatic messaging is choreographed by not by traditional diplomacy, but by Western PR firms, Hollywood scripts, and media manipulation.
What a sham.
Blacklabel
Oddly quiet here.
promises made, promises kept.
DaDude
Don't you want peace between Ukraine and Russia? Why fish for negative news when something positive happens?
wallace
Blacklabel
No payback for US aid to Ukraine.
Mr Kipling
Poor Ukraine, losing territory, industry and mineral wealth in the east to Russia and what is left is being channeled to the US to pay for a conflict it initiated. Got to feel sorry for them.
Wasabi
"deal" under extortion is not valid.
wallace
DaDude
The US-Ukraine mineral deal was signed. Joint trust fund with 50% of profits for the reconstruction of Ukraine. There is no payback for aid received by Ukraine. The American GDP fell during the first three months by 0.3%.
This has nothing to do with peace between Ukraine and Russia. More like peace between Zelensky and Trump. It could make Putin harden his peace demands because the largest mineral deposits are in Russia-controlled land.
Let's only talk about the good things Trump is doing and none of his very negative impacts on the world and the US.
"I read the news today, oh, boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh."
Peter Neil
Hilarious. Ukraine doesn't have enough critical minerals to fill a wheelbarrow.
Trump is desperate for a win and willing to pull this crap as PR. Of course Ukraine agreed, there aren't any critical minerals.
Many years ago, Ukraine tried to get investment from Europe for minerals but they couldn't find any deposits. Russia also explored finding critical minerals and found none either.
Ukraine is not even on the map or listed anywhere for having any critical mineral deposits.
Look it up, promises made, promises kept.
balancer
Ukraine is done and looted for good...feel sorry about UA citizens.
geronimo2006
US tried to force a deal onto Ukraine that was basically extortion. It was horrendously unfair and shameful of them. When that didn't work Trump agreed to this instead so he can blow his trumpet. He desperately needs something to show as he's tanking in the polls. The agreement now is nothing like what was proposed by US, and was only achieved through Ukraine standing up for itself. No sign of any real support coming from US while the Russians keep murdering Ukranians. The torture and murder of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna is a real shocker. No wonder Macron didn't want to shake hands with Trump.
wallace
Zelenskyy says his country's forces are still conducting operations in the western Russian region of Kursk.
Moscow earlier claimed it had fully retaken the territory.
Zelenskyy posted a social media message on Sunday, saying active defensive operations are underway in Kursk and Belgorod.
The president urged the world to put more pressure on Moscow. He noted the frontline situation and the Russian army's activities prove the current level of pressure is insufficient to bring about the war's end.
Underworld
Fos
The US big industrial military complex doesn't exist.
wallace
On average, it takes 18 years to develop a new mine and costs $500 million and $1 billion to build a mine and separation plant.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/breaking-down-us-ukraine-minerals-deal#:~:text=From%20the%20time%20reserves%20have,a%20mine%20and%20separation%20plant.
I guess after 18 years, there will be no further problems with Trump's tariffs.
GuruMick
Zelenski said "it hurt, but only at the start..."
Peter Neil
The US gets 100% of its titanium from Japan.
wallace
The deal was agreed at a meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the funeral of Pope Francis. He had a hand in it, too.
Blacklabel
They didn’t sign the minerals deal! Reeeee!
they only signed an “economic deal”.
why the wording change from liberal media?
TokyoLiving
And with this "elegant" way is how good old US reach economic power, as the good old scavenge vulture it is, by steal resources from oppressed countries, everything disguised as "freedom, democracy and goodwill"..
Thank God the world is waking up and those days will come to an happy end..
New world order is coming..
wtfjapan
promises made, promises kept.
oh so how are those minerals going to be mined if theyre under Russian control. its in Trumps interests to ensure they stay in Ukrainian control. then youve got to convince Russia that its i their best interest to end the war or keep fighting for more land grabs
wtfjapan
They didn’t sign the minerals deal! Reeeee!
if you can even find any, agreement doesnt include above ground asets like agriculture, which is Ukraines main export
HopeSpringsEternal
American voters want their tax dollars safe guarded, just like voters in Europe, Japan etc. Trump is delivering on a promise made to US voters...not letting the US get abused "by friend and foe" alike, in all deals including this very important Ukraine minerals deal, trade deals, etc.
Some dude
I reckon this will backfire on the USA big time, in the mid or long term.
If Trump miraculously keeps to his word, he will merely be thought of as an extortionist.
If he doesn't, he will be thought of as far worse.
Anyway, there's a lot to unpack in all this. People have pointed out that if he's after the rare earth minerals, they're kind of hard to reach right now as most of them are sitting under landmines. (Maybe he could send Vance to personally find them).
Plus others have speculated that Ukraine is taking a bet on Trump not living long enough to benefit personally (the only kind of benefit that he cares about) from it, and that if and when there's a change in administration, the next president will render the agreement null and void.
I doubt Ukraine agreed to this without insisting on checking the small print. They've resisted Russia for over three years, and they know that Trump reneges on almost every deal he makes, so there's probably quite a lot we don't know yet.
Underworld
HopeSpringsEternal
The delays were to get the wording right and it has had no effect on the peace process.
The US aren't getting any money that they have spent of Ukraine back in the deal.
stormcrow
How much will Trump charge Ukraine in their fight for freedom against the Russian invader?
How much will Trump charge Putin for his illegal invasion of Ukraine? . . . Nothing.
chatanista
This is good news. Significant step towards peace. Now for the next.
TaiwanIsNotChinaToday 07:01 am JST I would think there would be huge question marks about whether the US providing anything at all as part of this deal. Fortunately a Trump successor can invalidate it.
There is no need for invalidation by any Trump successor of a deal that is mutually beneficial to both Ukraine and the US. As the article says " Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in a post on X celebrated the breakthrough." Anti Trump crowd may hate and push for more war, but in the end it does not really matter what they think. More steps towards peace are inevitable .
elephant200
How come so stupid is Zelensky. Sign a deal without NATO membership !
theFu
This feels like a shakedown from the mob.
I remember the days when the US didn't at least appear to be run by the mob ... you know January 19th, 2025.
Just 1360 days remain.
I'm not against having favorable terms to have access to mines in Ukraine, but using the current situation to force an entire country to agree to something they wouldn't agree to during peace time is slimy and doesn't represent American culture or ideals. This is purely a Trump game.
wtfjapan
How come so stupid is Zelensky. Sign a deal without NATO membership !
Trump wont be president forever, next president will be far more NATO friendly.
Ukraine will be in NATO eventually , just not when Zelensky or Trump are around.
chatanista
BlacklabelToday 09:24 am JST U.S., Ukraine sign economic deal
They didn’t sign the minerals deal! Reeeee! they only signed an “economic deal”. why the wording change from liberal media.
Yeah, 3 guesses why.
UnderworldToday
The US aren't getting any money that they have spent of Ukraine back in the deal.
Great deal for Ukraine then, no wonder their Economy Minister celebrated the signing as the article says. Everyone supporting Ukraine should be happy too.
The US big industrial military complex doesn't exist.
Of course it exists, let's not get silly on this.
u_s__reamer
Evidently this mafia-style shakedown by "art of the deal" Don was an offer the desperate Zelenskyy could not refuse. Good luck getting those minerals out of the fist of the real deal mafioso, the "capo di tutti capi" in the Kremlin!
The accompanying photo showing the two leaders "so happy together" is so misleadingly sweet mischaracterizing the Machiavellian behind-the-scenes arm-twisting. To paraphrase the famous Mexican lament: Poor Ukraine! - so far from America, so close to Russia.
Underworld
chatanista
The US big industrial military complex doesn't exist.
Nope. The US big industrial military complex was a cold war thing.
kurisupisu
Trump getting deals yet so many deniers just can’t accept the gains…
ClippetyClop
If this deal incentivises Trump to continue military support for Ukraine until he leaves office then it could be useful. Just keep telling Trump that Putin is stealing his mineral money.
It's certainly a better deal that the one that Trump and JD Worm tried to force on Zelensky initially.
Of course when he finds out that Ukraine isn't going to be filling his pockets anytime soon he'll probably get bored and blame someone else again.
XCAndtheband
No matter how many times the MAGA and Russian sympathizers try to say it:
Ukraine did not start this war. Russia did.
And Donald Trump is not interested in peace, he just wants good publicity and to shakedown Ukraine for any cent it has.
Any deal without security guarantees for Ukraine and punishment for Russia, would do…what? Let’s say it all together: Embolden Russia!!
It’s insane so many MAGA cult members still don’t understand that you don’t reward bad behavior. Y’all never learned about appeasement.
ClippetyClop
They actually know this. They know full well that the odium of invasion lies squarely on Russia.
They have to invent complex coping methods to justify supporting a murderous fascist. And they can only utter them at anonymous places like here. If they were say them to actually real people they'd be laughed at and mocked.
Alessio
The signing of this minerals and rare earths deal and the disproportionate help, (huge business for weapons manufacturers not to mention the LNG gas suppliers, all Americans) shows indeed that the U.S. industrial military apparatus does call the shots inside the White House, and that business comes first in Washington, regardless of all the ethical and human complexities. And it is pretty sad.
RichardPearce
Just as Trump literally cannot comprehend what's involved in 'onshoring' the production factories, he can't comprehend that what's involved in getting from having the right to get access to rare earth deposits to having batteries etc.
Even if there are mines in the right places and miners available to work in them, there's no facilities to do even the first step of processing the ores to extract raw rare earth, let alone refine into useful materials for factories.
And until there is, no supply lines to get it to factories that themselves don't exist on the scale needed.
And by the time there is, the batteries that manufacturers want will be under Chinese patents, not American ones, and the bulk of the science research that underlies such patents happening in Chinese labs.
wallace
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has said Kyiv will retain full ownership of Ukrainian mineral resources.
HopeSpringsEternal
It's business, Ukraine MANY political considerations, but the US and its massive resource private sector will lead the extraction, with Ukrainian employees of course.
Naturally, it's in Ukraine on Ukrainian land, but like with any JV, partners will be incentivized with performance considerations and naturally it's all led by the private sector, Govt of Ukraine and US, just $beneficiaries.
chatanista
*Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has said Kyiv will retain full ownership of Ukrainian mineral resources.*
Great deal for Ukraine.
The US big industrial military complex was a cold war thing.
The U.S. military-industrial complex is around and doing very well*.** *In 2023, the U.S. spent over $800B on military, more than the next 10 countries combined. Private contractors profit massively and influence policy, just as they have been for decades. This isn’t a cold war thing, it is current reality.
Underworld
chatanista
Nope. The US big industrial military complex was a cold war thing.
Most of that is going nowhere near military companies.
Nope. They hardly have any real influence these days. Look at Raytheon its market cap is just 168.50 billion.
Fos
And there you have, another relevant statement which we need to confute :)
Comparing market tech companies with Washington's war machines does not make sense in economic terms if you don't put into context the links of US capitalism (and Wall Street's greed)
The “big three” US asset managers BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street are the largest shareholders in nearly 90% of S&P 500 companies, including all the weapons manufacturers. BlackRock manages more than $8 trillion in assets by itself.
The new statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute say that the 41 companies in the Top 100 are based in the United States, and recorded arms revenues of $317 billion, half the total arms revenues of the Top 100 and 2.5% more than in 2022. Since 2018, the top five companies in the Top 100 have all been based in the USA.
lincolnman
I'm afraid that won't do you any good Z....
Whatever "kompromat" Putin has on his Puppet it must be a doozie...
Trump dances as Vlad pulls his strings...
Peter14
If this is in Ukraine's best interests and helps provide the assistance it needs, then fair enough.
Cephus
"On average, it takes 18 years to develop a new mine and costs $500 million and $1 billion to build a mine and separation plant."
If exploration is over and the locations identified, it can be done in 3 years.
wallace
Cephus
"While it's theoretically possible, getting a new mine operational in just 3 years is highly unlikely and often unrealistic. The average timeframe for a new mine to go from initial discovery to production is much longer, typically ranging from 10 to 20 years."
All of the Ukrainian maps and surveys are well out of date, so that will be the first action taken.
Cephus
"While it's theoretically possible, getting a new mine operational in just 3 years is highly unlikely and often unrealistic. The average timeframe for a new mine to go from initial discovery to production is much longer, typically ranging from 10 to 20 years."
All of the Ukrainian maps and surveys are well out of date, so that will be the first action taken."
After bit of research, personally I've been much interested with rare earth mining in Africa and according to the research it's feasible to have everything running efficiently after 3 years at a cost of $380M if everything is in time.
Cephus
"All of the Ukrainian maps and surveys are well out of date, so that will be the first action taken."
Satellites survey doesn't take long.