IMAGE: Ukraine exported 33.7 million tons of iron ore in 2024 (Source GMK Center)
After tense negotiations, the U.S. has reached an agreement with Kyiv to share profits from Ukraine’s mineral and energy resource sales. Ukraine is believed to have valuable reserves of minerals like graphite, titanium, and lithium, which are crucial for renewable energy, military tech, and infrastructure. This deal aims to incentivise U.S. investment in Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction while addressing concerns about existing aid levels. It will also help establish a US-Ukraine reconstruction investment fund led by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support Ukraine’s economic recovery post-conflict.
MAP: Ukraine holds key natural resources deemed critical to US national security. (Source: Donna Grace / NY Post Design)
Ukraine has around 5% of global mineral resources and rare earth elements, but extraction is limited due to Russian control over many sites. According to France’s Bureau of Geological and Mining, Ukraine possesses about 20% of the world’s graphite, essential for electric batteries. It is also a key producer of manganese and titanium, and claims to have the largest lithium reserves in Europe. First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko, stated that the agreement empowers Kyiv to decide on the extraction of resources and affirms that the subsoil is retained under Ukrainian ownership. She emphasised that Ukraine holds no debt obligations to the United States as per the agreement, which was a significant aspect of the protracted discussions between the two nations. Oleksandr Merezhko, a legislator affiliated with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s political party and serving as the chair of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, stated:
“I don’t know what we have signed,” adding, “It seems like Trump put pressure on us in an attempt to get a victory in his first 100 days in office,” (Source ABC)
During a press conference in Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the formalisation of the agreement:
VIDEO: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces economic partnership agreement between US and Ukraine (Source: NYP)
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According to mining analysts and economists, Ukraine presently lacks any rare earth mines that are commercially operational. China stands as the leading global producer of rare earth elements and numerous other essential minerals. Ukraine State Geological Service announced that the government is in the process of preparing approximately 100 sites for joint licensing and development, although no additional information was disclosed. Firstpost has the story…
IMAGE: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko pose after signing a deal that will give the U.S. preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine’s reconstruction, in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 2025 (Source: U.s. Department Of The Treasury/via Reuters)
Firstpost reports…
US-Ukraine sign crucial minerals deal: What will be the impact on Russia war?
The United States and Ukraine finally signed off on a deal, which gives Washington access to Kyiv’s rare earth minerals. This agreement will establish the ‘US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. The Ukrainian side has called the newly-agreed treaty ‘equal and a good international deal’. But what is the fine print in the agreement?
It was a deal that was meant to be signed in February — but a contentious Oval Office meeting between US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Vice President JD Vance saw the deal being derailed.
Now, two months later, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko signed the minerals deal, which will give Washington access to Kyiv’s rare earth minerals in exchange for establishing an investment fund in Ukraine.
Announcing the deal in Washington, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it showed “both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine”.
“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Bessent said. “And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
What is the US-Ukraine minerals deal?
Ukraine is a mineral-rich country. It has deposits of 22 of the 50 materials classed as critical by the US Geological Survey. These include rare earth minerals and other materials that are critical to the production of electronics, clean energy technologies and some weapon systems.
However, Russia’s invasion has complicated access to these resources, with reports indicating that Moscow currently occupies up to 40 per cent of Ukraine’s metal deposits, including key lithium-rich areas.
Moreover, the US-China rivalry has pushed Trump to seek Ukraine’s minerals. China currently dominates the global supply chain for critical minerals, controlling between 50 per cent and 75 per cent of global rare earth element production and refining.
In such a situation, the US saw it crucial to gain access to Kyiv’s minerals and hence, the deal was drafted. In February, Trump indicated that he wanted access to Ukraine’s rare earth materials, describing it as reimbursement for the billions of dollars in aid the US has given to the war-torn nation.
Then late February, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Donald Trump at the White House to sign the deal. However, talks between the leaders went awry when a heated argument took place, resulting in the Ukrainian president leaving Washington without reaching an agreement on the deal’s framework.
What’s in the new ‘equal deal’ signed between US and Ukraine?
Earlier efforts for a minerals deal between the US and Ukraine were nixed as Zelenskyy insisted that he would not agree to any contract that reclassified aid as debt. The Ukrainian president was also concerned about security guarantees and whether the US would provide them as part of the deal. Trump initially refused that, saying he wanted Ukraine to sign the agreement first and talk about guarantees later. At that time, Zelenskyy described the draft agreement as asking him to “sell” his country.
But after much negotiations and discussions, which even saw Trump and Zelenskyy having a sit down at the Vatican before Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26, the two sides agreed on a deal. This agreement is a modification of a previous offer, in which the US demanded billions in repayment for past funding of Ukraine’s defence.
This version of the minerals deal envisions the establishment of a US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund that the Trump administration has said will begin to repay an estimated $175 billion in aid provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko in a social media post, also confirmed the signing of the minerals deal, saying that “together with the United States, we are creating the fund that will attract global investment into our country.”
On behalf of the Government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of a United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country.
On behalf of the Government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of a United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country. pic.twitter.com/8ryyAMqW83
— Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) April 30, 2025
According to the deal inked between the two countries, the fund would be split 50-50 between the US and Ukraine and give each side equal voting rights. It says that any future US military assistance to Ukraine will count towards the US contribution to the joint fund.
Moreover, the United States, or other entities it designates, will get preferential, but not exclusive, access to new permits, licences and investment opportunities in the field of Ukrainian natural resources. However, existing deals are not covered.
The new minerals deal also mentions that “it is the Ukrainian state that determines what and where to extract” and that “subsoil remains under Ukrainian ownership”.
Svyrydenko also 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, however, has directly addressed this suggestion.
It’s important to note here that the latest version of the minerals deal doesn’t provide Ukraine with any concrete US security guarantee. However, it states that Kyiv and Washington affirm a “long-term strategic alignment” between the two countries and US “support for Ukraine’s security, prosperity, reconstruction, and integration into global economic frameworks.”
Following the signing of the deal, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys 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.”
What does the deal mean for the Ukraine-Russia war?
The signing of the deal has been hailed by many on both sides, stating that it’s a positive move amidst the Russia-Ukraine war. Razom for Ukraine, a US non-profit that provides medical and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, welcomed the deal and even encouraged the Trump administration to now put pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war.
Other experts also noted that the signing of the deal comes at a crucial time of the Russia-Ukraine war. It signals a warming of the Trump administration to Kyiv, a development that comes after the US president made multiple statements accusing Zelenskyy of being a “ dictator,” and expressing support for Russia maintaining at least some of its territorial gains in Ukraine.
Moreover, Trump has signalled that he now believes that Putin is not being genuine in his approach to peace talks. Last Thursday, the US president had said he is “not happy” after Russia launched its deadliest wave of attacks on Kyiv in nine months, telling President Vladimir Putin to “Stop!”
Following a deadly aerial attack, Trump had written on social media, “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, Stop! 5m000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the peace deal done!”
Later, on Saturday, Trump accused Putin of prolonging the Ukraine conflict, suggesting that Moscow may have no intention of reaching a settlement. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days.
It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war; he’s just tapping me along, and it has to be dealt with differently, through ‘banking’ or ‘secondary sanctions.’ Too many people are dying,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
READ MORE UKRAINE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Ukraine Files
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