Ukraine and the United States plan to sign a long-awaited minerals deal Wednesday, a top official in Kyiv with direct knowledge of the talks told POLITICO.
Kyiv and Washington have been negotiating for months on an agreement, which would see the U.S. develop Ukraine’s vast natural resources, including critical elements and minerals vital to manufacturing modern technologies, and contribute to a reconstruction fund for Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump has previously described such a deal as reimbursement for the billions in American aid funneled to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko traveled to Washington on Wednesday to ink the agreement. The terms of the deal include assurances that Ukraine will not need to pay back prior aid as debt and that the U.S. will contribute to a reconstruction fund.
“Yes, we were planning to sign the deal today,” the senior Ukrainian official said. “The United States also agreed to contribute to the reconstruction fund. For example, if the U.S. gives Ukraine air defense systems, their money […] can be considered as a contribution to the fund.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously refused to sign two draft agreements proposed by Trump’s administration, saying the terms — which included Kyiv giving up minerals, oil and gas revenues, plus earnings from ports and other infrastructure to the tune of $500 billion — were too harsh.
“I will not sign what 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back,” Zelenskyy insisted in February.
Trump and Zelenskyy were set to sign a deal in February before the discussions were spectacularly derailed by a heated Oval Office meeting between the two leaders.
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