Ukraine has signed a deal with the United States, granting the US access to Ukraine’s rare minerals as it works with the Trump administration to end its three-year conflict with Russia.
Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, flew to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to help finalize the deal.
“On behalf of the Government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of a US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Together with the United States, we are establishing the Fund to attract global investment into our country,” she wrote on X.
When President Donald Trump took office, he stated that he wanted Ukraine’s rare earth materials in exchange for continued US support in the war. He described it as compensation for the billions of dollars in US military aid provided to Ukraine.
After a tense meeting in the Oval Office between Trump administration officials and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talks on a potential deal came to a halt.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the agreement will establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to help accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery.
“This 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 wrote in a press release.
“President Trump envisioned a partnership between the American and Ukrainian people to demonstrate both sides’ commitment to long-term peace and prosperity in Ukraine. And, to be clear, no state or individual who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
The United States is seeking access to over 20 raw materials deemed strategically important to its interests, including non-minerals such as oil and natural gas. Among them are Ukraine’s titanium deposits, which are used to manufacture aircraft wings and other aerospace components, as well as uranium deposits, which are used in nuclear power, medical equipment, and weapons production.
Ukraine also contains lithium, graphite, and manganese, which are used in electric vehicle batteries.
The agreement will establish an equal partnership between the two countries and last for ten years. Financial contributions to a joint fund would be made in cash, with only new US military aid counting toward the American share.
Svyrydenko stated that neither party will have a majority vote, reflecting Ukraine and the United States’ equal partnership. The fund is supported by the United States government through the International Development Finance Corporation.
Unlike an earlier draft of the agreement, the deal would not interfere with Ukraine’s path to European Union membership, which is an important provision for Kyiv.
According to the terms of the agreement, the Ukrainian government will decide what minerals will be extracted and where, Svyrydenko said.