US and Ukraine reach agreement on minerals deal

The United States and Ukraine reached a deal that would give American firms privileged access to Ukraine’s natural resources, according to officials.

The agreement, which had been under negotiation for weeks, grants U.S. firms access to Ukraine’s strategic natural resources—including aluminum, graphite, oil, and natural gas—and sets up a framework for long-term economic cooperation between the two countries.

In a statement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said the fund recognizes “the significant financial and material support” the American people have provided to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, and that the partnership is designed to accelerate Ukraine’s postwar recovery.

“Thanks to President Trump’s tireless efforts to secure a lasting peace, I am glad to announce the signing of today’s historic economic partnership agreement,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine.”

Bessent said that those who supported Russia’s war machine would be barred from benefiting from Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will work with the Ukrainian government to finalize the fund’s governance structure and begin implementation. Both sides have described the agreement as a milestone in bilateral cooperation.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who traveled to Washington for the signing, confirmed the agreement in a statement: “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.”

In early March, the White House ordered a freeze on military aid to Ukraine pending evidence of Kyiv’s commitment to good-faith peace talks with Russia. “We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” a senior official said at the time.

The pause came after a tense Oval Office meeting where President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance confronted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over what they perceived as resistance to negotiations. No agreements were reached during that meeting, which ended abruptly.

Officials from both countries had worked through several rounds of late-night negotiations, with some sticking points reportedly involving the governance of the fund and the transparency framework.