The U.S. and Ukraine announced on Wednesday an economic agreement after a weeks-long press by U.S. President Donald Trump on Ukraine to compensate Washington for billions in military and economic assistance to assist Ukraine repel the Russian invasion.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video posted to X that “this partnership allows america to speculate alongside Ukraine, to unlock Ukraine’s growth assets, mobilize American talent, capital and governance standards that can improve Ukraine’s investment climate and speed up Ukraine’s economic recovery.”
The announcement comes at a critical moment within the war as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with leaders of Russia and Ukraine with the brutal fighting dragging on.
The American president has criticized his Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for steps that he said were prolonging the killing, and he has rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin for complicating negotiations with “very bad timing” in launching deadly strikes on Kyiv.
Trump on Saturday met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral.
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in a post on X celebrated the breakthrough.
“Along with america, we’re creating the Fund that can attract global investment to our country,” she said.
The 2 sides offered only barebone details concerning the structure of the deal, but it surely is predicted to offer the U.S. access to its helpful rare minerals within the hopes of ensuring continued American support for Kyiv in its grinding war with Russia.
Ukraine’s economy minister and deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, flew to Washington on Wednesday to assist finalize the deal, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during an appearance on Ukrainian television. Although the essential a part of the agreement had been settled, there have been still hurdles to beat, said a senior Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity since the official wasn’t authorized to debate the matter publicly.
For Ukraine, the agreement is seen as key to making sure its access to future U.S. military aid.
“Truly, this can be a strategic deal for the creation of an investment partner fund,” Shmyhal said. “This is really an equal and good international deal on joint investment in the event and restoration of Ukraine between the governments of america and Ukraine.”
Trump began his push for a deal in February that he wanted access to Ukraine’s rare earth materials as a condition for continued U.S. support within the war, describing it as reimbursement for the billions of dollars in aid the U.S. has given to Kyiv.
But talks stalled after a tense Oval Office meeting of U.S. and Ukrainian leaders, and reaching an agreement since then has proven difficult and strained relations between Washington and Kyiv.
Negotiations appeared to tug on till shortly before the 2 sides confirmed an agreement had been signed off on the deal.
Earlier Wednesday, Bessent said during a Cabinet meeting on the White House — hours after Ukrainian officials indicated a deal was nearly finalized — that there was still work to do.
“The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last-minute changes,” Bessent said when asked about reports that Ukraine was able to conform to the pact. “We’re sure that they may reconsider that. And we’re able to sign this afternoon in the event that they are.”
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He didn’t elaborate as to the late changes he said Ukraine made.
The U.S. has been searching for access to greater than 20 raw materials deemed strategically critical to its interests, including some non-minerals resembling oil and natural gas. Amongst them are Ukraine’s deposits of titanium, which is used for making aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, and uranium, which is used for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons. Ukraine also has lithium, graphite and manganese, that are utilized in electric vehicle batteries.
After Kyiv felt the initial U.S. draft of the deal disproportionately favored American interests, it introduced latest provisions aimed toward addressing those concerns.
In response to Shmyhal, the newest version would establish an equal partnership between the 2 countries and last for 10 years. Financial contributions to a joint fund could be made in money, and only latest U.S. military aid would count toward the American share. Assistance provided before the agreement was signed wouldn’t be counted. Unlike an earlier draft, the deal wouldn’t conflict with Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership — a key provision for Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Cabinet approved the agreement Wednesday, empowering Svyrydenko to sign it in Washington. Once signed by either side, the deal would have to be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament before it could take effect.
Putin wants answers before committing to a ceasefire
The negotiations come amid rocky progress in Washington’s push to stop the war.
Putin backs calls for a ceasefire before peace negotiations, “but before it’s done, it’s vital to reply a couple of questions and type out a couple of nuances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin can be ready for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions to hunt a peace deal, he added.
“We realize that Washington wants to attain quick progress, but we hope for understanding that the Ukrainian crisis settlement is much too complex to be done quickly,” Peskov said during his day by day conference call with reporters.
Trump has expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress in negotiations aimed toward stopping the war. Western European leaders have accused Putin of stalling while his forces seek to grab more Ukrainian land. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory since Moscow’s forces launched a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Trump has long dismissed the war as a waste of lives and American taxpayer money — a grievance he repeated Wednesday during his Cabinet meeting. That might spell an end to crucial military help for Ukraine and heavier economic sanctions on Russia.
US wants either side to hurry things up
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday tried again to push either side to maneuver more quickly and warned that the U.S. could pull out of the negotiations if there’s no progress.
“We at the moment are at a time where concrete proposals have to be delivered by the 2 parties on tips on how to end this conflict,” department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce quoted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as telling her.
Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for a right away and full 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt to Ukraine’s mobilization effort and Western arms supplies to Kyiv.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Wednesday that Ukraine had accepted an unconditional truce only since it was being pushed back on the battlefield, where the larger Russian forces have the upper hand.
UN says Ukrainian civilian casualties are on the rise
Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians have been killed or wounded in attacks every single day this yr, in accordance with a U.N. report presented Tuesday in Recent York.
The U.N. Human Rights Office said within the report that in the primary three months of this yr, it had verified 2,641 civilian casualties in Ukraine. That was almost 900 greater than throughout the same period last yr.
Also, between April 1-24, civilian casualties in Ukraine were up 46% from the identical weeks in 2024, it said.
The day by day grind of the war shows no sign of letting up. A nighttime Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, wounded a minimum of 45 civilians, Ukrainian officials said.
Also Wednesday, the Ukrainian Security Service claimed its drones struck the Murom Instrument Engineering Plant in Russia’s Vladimir region overnight, causing five explosions and a hearth on the military facility. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.
Assoicated Press author Fatima Hussein contributed reporting.
