Officials from Ukraine and the United States have signed an agreement that allows the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
The agreement supports the development of a long-term economic partnership that brings Ukraine into the American investment orbit, while allowing the U.S. to tap what is believed to be significant wealth in terms of rare earth minerals, oil, and gas, according to Axios.
Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka said the deal is “about investments, investments, and investments.”
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Ukraine is believed to hold large stores of graphite, titanium and lithium, which are vital for many sectors including renewable energy and military technology, according to the BBC.
The deal had been in the works for months but was sidelined after a disastrous Feb. 28 meeting at the White House among Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, and Vice President J.D. Vance.
The agreement will create the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement on the department’s website.
Citing American support for Ukraine since “Russia’s full-scale invasion,” the partnership the fund represents “positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to ensure that our mutual assets, talents, and capabilities can accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery,” the release said.
“Thanks to President Trump’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,” Bessent said in the release.
“As the President has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war.
“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,” he explained.
“President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine.
“And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
The agreement “guarantees new deliveries of American weapons, including air defense systems — their cost will be credited to a joint fund,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelenskyy, according to ABC.
“Moscow has lost: Putin’s attempt to offer the U.S. a stake in the occupied Donbas’ mineral wealth has failed. We are strengthening alliances, securing resources to continue our resistance and forcing the world to see Ukraine as an equal player,” he said.
“To sum up, the key outcome of this agreement is that the world’s leading power has become a co-investor in Ukraine.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, the deal “marks an important milestone in Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s economy and security.
