US Ukraine resource-sharing agreement: The United States and Ukraine Wednesday finalised a sweeping new agreement that will give Washington access to Ukraine’s vast reserves of critical minerals and natural resources, as Kyiv looks to secure future American support in its war against Russia.
The pact, known as the United States-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund, marks a significant shift in the economic partnership between the two countries. Though details of the fund’s structure remain sparse, US officials described it as a mechanism that will allow America to tap into Ukraine’s valuable rare earth minerals — including titanium, uranium, and lithium — while also attracting global investment to rebuild the war-torn nation.
“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,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement following the signing ceremony.
The announcement comes at a critical juncture in the three-year war, as President Donald Trump, who returned to office this year, has expressed growing frustration with the slow progress toward ending the conflict. Trump, who has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for failing to make concessions, said on Wednesday that the new deal ensures the US will “get more from Ukraine than it contributed.”
“I wanted to be protected,” Trump said in an interview with NewsNation. “I didn’t want to be looking foolish by not getting money back for the investment.”
Thanks to @POTUS @realDonaldTrump’s tireless efforts to secure a lasting peace, I am glad to announce the signing of today’s historic economic partnership agreement between the United States and Ukraine establishing the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to help
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) April 30, 2025
For Ukraine, the agreement is seen as pivotal in ensuring that American military and financial aid will continue to flow. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal hailed the deal as a strategic victory. “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,” he said.
Ukraine’s Economy Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, travelled to Washington this week to finalize the terms. “Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment to our country,” she said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The deal had been in the works for weeks, after an earlier version nearly collapsed in February during a tense Oval Office meeting between Trump, US Vice President J D Vance, and Zelenskyy. According to US officials, Ukraine initially balked at provisions it viewed as disproportionately favouring American interests. Kyiv later succeeded in amending the text to address those concerns, ensuring that only new US military aid would count toward Washington’s share in the fund, and that the agreement would not interfere with Ukraine’s ambitions to join the European Union.
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“This is an equal partnership,” Shmyhal said, adding that the arrangement will last for ten years and require cash contributions from both sides.
Ukraine’s Cabinet approved the final version of the agreement on Wednesday, authorizing Svyrydenko to sign it in Washington. The pact still requires ratification by Ukraine’s parliament before it can take effect.
The US has long sought greater access to more than 20 raw materials deemed strategically critical, including titanium — used in aerospace manufacturing — and uranium for nuclear energy and medical uses. Ukraine’s lithium, graphite, and manganese deposits are also coveted for their role in the production of electric vehicle batteries and other technologies.
Earlier in the day, Secretary Bessent acknowledged lingering challenges in the negotiations, saying during a Cabinet meeting that Kyiv had introduced “last-minute changes” overnight. “We’re sure that they will reconsider that. And we are ready to sign this afternoon if they are,” he said.
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Where do things stand on the Russia-Ukraine war front?
The breakthrough comes as the Trump administration pushes both Ukraine and Russia toward a ceasefire amid ongoing hostilities. Moscow has signalled openness to talks but has tied any truce to demands that Ukraine halt its mobilization and Western countries stop supplying Kyiv with weapons.
“We realize that Washington wants to achieve quick progress, but we hope for understanding that the Ukrainian crisis settlement is far too complex to be done quickly,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during his daily press briefing. Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added, is ready for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions.
On Wednesday, Trump repeated his long-held criticisms of the war effort, calling it a waste of American lives and taxpayer dollars. Speaking during his Cabinet meeting, he warned that unless negotiations accelerate, US military assistance could dry up — an outcome that would have profound consequences for Kyiv as it faces a better-equipped Russian military.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also signalled Washington’s impatience. “We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict,” Rubio was quoted as saying by State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.
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Russia, however, rejected the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, calling it unrealistic given the conditions on the ground. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Ukraine had only considered a truce because its forces are being pushed back in the field, where Russian troops have seized nearly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory since the invasion began on February 24, 2022.
Despite the ongoing violence, US officials said they hoped the new resource-sharing deal would send a message that Washington remains committed to Ukraine’s long-term security and reconstruction — even as it seeks a faster resolution to the war.
