The minerals deal reorients US policy toward Ukraine

WashingtonMore than two months have passed since Volodymyr Zelensky left the White House without signing the agreement for the exploitation of Ukrainian minerals. after Donald Trump booed him in the Oval Office. While negotiations to achieve a battlefield truce with Russia have continued to advance – although so far only with Minimum agreements that are impossible to meet due to Vladimir Putin's demands–, talks on the rare earths agreement had continued to take place in the background. Finally, Washington and Kiev signed the document this Wednesday that grants the United States access to Ukrainian resources, including aluminum, graphite, crude oil, and natural gas, according to Bloomberg. Shortly after the signing, Trump approved the first shipment of military equipment to Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. The TimesThis is the first package the president has approved since taking office. The measure stands in stark contrast to Washington's behavior a month ago, when it decided to temporarily suspend arms shipments to force Zelensky to accept the terms of the truce agreed upon with Putin. "Thanks to President Donald Trump's tireless efforts to ensure a lasting peace, I am pleased to announce the signing today of the historic economic partnership agreement between the United States and Ukraine, which establishes the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to help accelerate Ukraine's recovery," Bessent said in a statement.

The White House defines the agreement as an "economic partnership" between the two countries to "work collaboratively and invest jointly to ensure our shared assets, capabilities, and talents can accelerate Ukraine's economic recovery."

"The agreement has changed significantly during the preparation process. It is now an agreement between equals that creates investment opportunities in Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech to the nation on Thursday, in which he called the pact "fair." Meanwhile, Ukrainian Economy Secretary Yulia Sviridenko, who flew to Washington on Wednesday to finalize the details of the agreement, said in a post on X: "On behalf of the government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of an Investment Fund for the United States, we are creating a fund that will attract global investment to our country."

In the same post on X, Sviridenko detailed the points of the agreement, including that Ukraine "does not have any obligatory debt to the United States." Trump has always demanded an exploitation agreement from Kiev in return for the military support provided during the three years of war. In the first attempt to sign the agreement, Washington wanted Ukraine to recognize the shipment of arms and other forms of support as a debt, although Zelensky had already made it clear that he refused to accept such a large-scale agreement. Furthermore, the pact "complies with the Constitution and maintains the course of Ukraine's European integration." Therefore, it also dispels doubts about Ukraine's future in the EU, after the US president had already announced that he would have to abandon his aspirations to join NATO in order to reach an agreement with Russia.

According to the terms of the agreement made public by the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, the signed text provides for the creation of a common investment fund between the two countries over which both parties will have equal decision-making capacity. In previous versions of the document, the United States had the final say on the operation of the fund, to which 50% of the profits generated by the future exploitation of Ukraine's natural resources will be allocated.

The pact involves all mineral resources, including oil and gas, as well as major energy assets throughout Ukraine. However, gas, oil, and other raw material extraction projects already underway are excluded. The fund's resources will be invested exclusively in the development of new extraction projects or in the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Extracting the natural resources that will fill the fund's coffers will require huge amounts of capital and the transfer of technology from the United States. Kiev and Washington include clauses that "safeguard" Ukraine's accession to the European bloc and respect obligations regarding existing agreements between the two, as highlighted by EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier. This comes just days after Russia launched one of the worst attacks on Kiev in months. It was then that the president posted on Truth Social in which he shouted "Vladimir, STOP!" Vance, have threatened that the United States will abandon the negotiating table if a peace agreement is not reached soon. In parallel with the negotiations. The United States has already begun withdrawing troops from the Polish border with Ukraine.. All under the guise of saving money.

The Treasury Secretary said the following after the minerals agreement was signed: "This agreement sends a clear message to Russia: the Trump administration is committed to a peace process focused on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine for the long term. [...] No state or individual who has funded Ukraine will profit from the reconstruction of Ukraine."