US and Ukraine sign key minerals deal

Two sides offer barebone details about structure of deal, called the 'US-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund'

The minerals deal is a cornerstone of US President Donald Trump's plans to end the Russia-Ukraine war. AFP

The US and Ukraine on Wednesday signed a deal focused on access to Ukrainian mineral wealth.

The two sides offered only the barest details about the structure of the deal, which they called the "US-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund". But it is expected to give the US access to Ukraine’s valuable rare earth minerals while providing Kyiv some assurance of continued American support in its war with Russia.

The deal is a cornerstone of US President Donald Trump's plans to end the Russia-Ukraine war, but negotiations fell through in late February after he clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, accusing him of not being grateful enough for US assistance.

Talks seemed to be back on this week, with Ukrainian officials visiting Washington to iron out final details.

“We made a deal where our money is secure, where we can start digging and doing what we have to do,” Mr Trump said at a Cabinet meeting at the White House earlier on Wednesday. “It’s also good for them because you’ll have an American presence at the site, and 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.”

Ukrainian officials praised the signing of the deal. Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, said in a post on X that she had signed the agreement on behalf of Kyiv.

"Together with the United States, we are creating the fund that will attract global investment into our country," she wrote.

Ukraine does not produce any rare earths but does possess large deposits of minerals such as lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and yttrium. Reuters

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal added: “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.”

The accord will reportedly give the US first claim on profits transferred into a special reconstruction investment fund that would be controlled by Washington. A draft of the minerals agreement seen by Reuters gave the US preferential access to new Ukrainian natural resources deals but did not automatically hand Washington a share of Kyiv's mineral wealth or any of its gas infrastructure.

In the Treasury Department's announcement of the reconstruction investment fund, it said the initiative would allow Kyiv and Washington to "work collaboratively and invest together" to help Ukraine bounce back from the continuing conflict.

“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 said in a statement. "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."

Mr Bessent added that no state or person who financed or supplied Russia's war effort would be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.