The United States and Ukraine have signed an agreement giving the US access to Ukraine’s valuable rare minerals in a deal that Ukraine hopes will ensure continued American support for Kyiv in its war with Russia.
The agreement establishes the United-States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which the US Treasury Department said will allow the two countries to “work collaboratively and invest together to ensure that our mutual assets, talents, and capabilities can accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a news release that 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.”
Bessent called the establishment of the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund a historic economic partnership and credited US President Donald Trump with pushing for it to be signed as part of his efforts to seek an end to the war.
"As the President has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war,” Bessent said.
SEE ALSO: Why China Is Flexing Its Dominance Of Rare Earth Minerals In US Trade WarTrump has expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress in negotiations. The US State Department on April 29 tried again to get both sides to move more quickly and warned that Washington could step back from the talks if there's no progress.
Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's economy minister and deputy prime minister, signed the agreement with Bessent, the Treasury Department said. Svyrydenko said the agreement "can provide success for both our countries" and "will attract global investment into our state" in highlighting its key points in a post on Facebook.
Svyrydenko said the investment fund will be filled with income exclusively from new licenses. This involves 50 percent of the funds from new licenses for critical materials and oil and gas projects, which will come into Ukraine's budget once the fund is established.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andryi Sybiha wrote on X that he had briefed EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas about the minerals agreement between Ukraine and the United States.
"This marks an important milestone in Ukraine–US strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s economy and security," he said in his post.
Roman Kostenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker and special forces commander, told Current Time that the question of security guarantees in connection with the US-Ukraine minerals deal "remains open."
"Perhaps there were certain nuances that prevented their inclusion in the minerals deal, even though it was a demand from our side," he added.
Military Aid
Beyond its monetary aspects, Ukraine also sees the agreement as key to ensuring its access to future US military aid.
"In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide NEW assistance -- for example air defense systems for Ukraine," she said on X.
On April 29, the US Congress website published a notice from a senior official in the State Department's Bureau of Legislative Affairs on the certification of a proposed license for the export of defense articles which included "defense services to Ukraine in the amount of $50 million or more."
According to the Ukrainian media outlet the Kyiv Post, the White House approved the license shortly after the two countries signed the agreement on mineral resources.
The agreement is in accordance with the Constitution and does not change Ukraine's European integration course, she added. It also states that all resources on Ukraine's territory and in territorial waters belong to Ukraine, and Kyiv alone will determine where and what to extract.
The Ukrainian cabinet approved the agreement earlier on April 30, empowering Svyrydenko to sign it in Washington. The deal still needs to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament before it can take effect.
The Treasury Department's news release said the department and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will work with the government of Ukraine to finalize the program’s governance and advance the partnership.
SEE ALSO: Rubio Says Ukraine Peace Deal 'Closer' As Kyiv Calls For More Pressure On RussiaSpeaking on Ukrainian television earlier on April 30, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called the deal "truly a good, equal and beneficial international agreement on joint investments in the development and recovery of Ukraine."
Shmyhal said on Telegram that each side will have 50 percent voting rights in the Reconstruction Investment Fund, and the fund's profits will be reinvested exclusively in Ukraine.
Meeting a key concern for Ukraine, he said Kyiv would not be asked to pay back any "debt" for the billions of dollars in US weapons and other support since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Trump indicated in February that he wanted access to Ukraine’s rare earth materials as a condition for continued US support in the war, describing it as reimbursement for the billions of dollars in aid that Washington has given to Kyiv.
But talks stalled after a tense Oval Office meeting, which ended in acrimony with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance verbally attacking each other.
The US is seeking access to more than 20 raw materials deemed strategically critical to its interests. Among them are 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 deposits of lithium, graphite, and manganese, which are used in electric vehicle batteries.
Trump said the deal “in theory” means that the US will get more from Ukraine than it contributed.
“I wanted to be protected,” he said in an interview on NewsNation, adding that he didn’t want to be looking “foolish” by not getting money back for the investment.
Trump said earlier at a cabinet meeting that the American presence will "keep a lot of bad actors out of the country or certainly out of the area where we're doing the digging."