The United States and Ukraine have finally signed a significant agreement granting the U.S. preferential access to Ukraine’s critical mineral resources. Concluded after months of negotiations, this agreement envisions the establishment of a joint Recovery Investment Fund aimed at supporting Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction and economic development.
The agreement requires Ukraine to invest 50% of future revenues from its state-owned natural resources—including lithium, titanium, uranium, and graphite—into the fund, without incurring debt obligations. The fund will be jointly managed by both countries and will reinvest in Ukraine over at least a ten-year period using the generated revenues. The deal preserves Ukraine’s ownership and control over its resources, addressing concerns about sovereignty. The new fund will be co-governed by U.S. and Ukrainian representatives, with its structure, governance rules, and financial mechanisms to be agreed upon separately. U.S. legislation will be taken into account in the fund’s operations, and the U.S. government's financial stake and decision-making authority in the fund will be defined within this framework.
Ukraine’s Recovery Fund: Revenue from natural resources
According to the agreement reached, the Ukrainian government will allocate 50% of the revenues generated through the future monetization of state-owned natural resources—including oil, gas, and other extractable materials—into the fund. These funds will be reinvested to support Ukraine's recovery. The fund will collect the incoming resources and invest them in new projects in Ukraine; if necessary, it will have the capacity to reimburse or provide loans to the Ukrainian government for the actual costs of these projects. Both parties reserve the right to take necessary steps to increase the fund’s revenues and preserve the value of its capital.
The parties will pay particular attention to ensuring that the fund's activities do not violate existing sanctions. Furthermore, the fund’s operations must not conflict with Ukraine’s European Union accession process or its commitments to international financial institutions. The document states that the fund will operate on a commercial basis and aims to ensure long-term financial sustainability for Ukraine’s recovery. The fund’s legal framework must be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada). The U.S. has also declared its support for Ukraine’s efforts to ensure national security and achieve peace. Both parties have agreed to immediately begin negotiations on the establishment of the fund. For this purpose, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Ukraine’s Ministries of Finance and Economy have been designated as the responsible authorities.
Preliminary agreement
In an interview with APA, Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko stated that Ukraine is currently working to align the document with its Constitution and to ensure its own position is acknowledged, which means the agreement is still in an unfinalized state.
“Although the issue of signing a deal between the U.S. and Ukraine regarding the development of mineral deposits came to the forefront in November 2024, the overall parameters of the document began to be developed during Joe Biden's presidency. However, Biden's loss in the election led to delays in the process. With Donald Trump returning to power, a policy was initiated to continue the mentioned agreement. Unlike Biden, Trump tends to speak less and act more decisively, which resulted in the agreement being signed within the first month of his presidency. However, despite being signed, the Trump administration has since made continuous efforts to amend the agreement. Ukraine, on its part, is currently focusing on aligning the agreement more closely with its Constitution and on getting certain positions reflected in the document. Considering all this, I can say that even though the agreement has been signed, what we are dealing with at the moment is still an incomplete deal,” the expert emphasized.
No security guarantees in the agreement
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously stated that the agreement includes no concrete provisions regarding security guarantees and that this issue would be addressed in future negotiations. In addition, some Ukrainian officials expressed concerns that the deal, characterized by some as a "Trump agreement," carries harsh conditions that could put the country’s sovereignty at risk.
Ukrainian expert confirmed that the agreement contains no clause granting any formal security guarantees to Kyiv: “Investments are being drawn into mineral deposits that are of interest to Washington. This means that any region in Ukraine containing such resources effectively falls under the influence of U.S. strategic interests. Consequently, any third-party interest in these deposits could be perceived as infringing on Washington’s priorities. In such a case, the United States may take whatever steps it deems necessary to protect its interests. Throughout its history, the U.S. has never acted against its national interests or failed to defend them. For this reason, one could hypothetically interpret this alignment of interests as a form of security guarantee for Ukraine. However, there is no legally binding document or explicit clause that confirms or formalizes such a guarantee. Neither this agreement nor previously signed documents contain any official assurance of that kind.”
Shift in the U.S. policy vector toward Ukraine
Commenting on the pros and cons of the agreement for Ukraine, military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko noted that after Donald Trump’s inauguration, his administration for the first time gave the green light for arms exports to Ukraine: “According to reports, the White House approved the delivery of $50 million worth of defense-related products to Ukraine. This is the first batch of weapons sent to Ukraine during Trump’s presidency. What’s notable is that this development came immediately after the signing of the mineral resources agreement. Additionally, Senator Lindsey Graham recently put forward another interesting proposal: if President Vladimir Putin refuses to negotiate, countries importing oil from Russia would be subject to a 500% customs duty. If implemented, this would impose a heavy economic and financial burden on states that import Russian oil directly or indirectly (via so-called 'gray schemes'). It could negatively affect those countries’ economic development, GDP, and other key indicators. All of these developments occurred right after the agreement was signed. We intend to expand cooperation with these countries in the future, and it’s clear that just one day after the document was formalized, a significant shift in U.S. policy toward Ukraine has begun. In the coming period, it is expected that under Trump’s presidency, the U.S. will adopt either a more Ukraine-oriented or, conversely, a more Russia-leaning stance. All this suggests that 2025 will be the year of a major policy shift in the White House’s Ukraine strategy.”
Strategic significance of the agreement
In an interview with APA, American political scientist Peter Tase said that this agreement holds significant importance for Ukraine's future.
"On April 30th, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, with her presence and leadership, showed a true commitment to peace and has defended the national security of Ukraine. As a courageous Ukrainian woman, Svyrydenko boosted the political face of President Volodymyr Zelensky as he openly attempted to swerve some concessions requested from the Trump Administration. President Volodymyr Zelensky finally understood that his presidency would have been in line had the April 30th mineral resources deal between Kyiv and Washington not been signed. The joint exploitation agreement of Ukrainian energy resources and mineral resources, after months of tempered and tense negotiations, was signed on behalf of the White House by the U. S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Secretary Bessent was one of the principal actors of this historic agreement and will be remembered as a visionary statesman who has effectively used all tools of statecraft as a prelude to a peace agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. President Trump and his team of strategists have shown the world once again his commitment to saving Ukrainian and Russian lives and bringing a lasting peace to the European Continent; a noble cause that EU nations have not been competent nor had the stamina and endurance to tackle Moscow’s demands since 2013. From now moving forward, Kyiv will be attracting new strategic investors and its enemies will clearly understand that the United States has a vested interest in preserving peace and security, including territorial sovereignty of Ukraine (not including the territories that are already occupied by Russia, Crimea, etc.).
This bilateral agreement will entail extraction of minerals, oil and gas, by foreign energy companies although the property will be of Ukraine. Thanks to this deal, the US will provide air defense systems to Kyiv and expand the military assistance for the country. There is no doubt that Russia will consider this deal in the light that Washington is truly committed to a free Ukraine and presidential elections in Ukraine are on hold for now. The United States is given to bring together the conflicting parties to end this painful collision between both nations; that is seriously affecting the economies of the European Union and Central Asia," the political scientist stated.
The US is ready to protect Ukraine's sovereignty
According to an American analyst, this agreement is considered one of the significant foreign policy steps during Donald Trump's presidency: "The critical minerals’ deal with the government of Ukraine will certainly be remembered in history as a solid geopolitical doctrine in the history of Donald Trump’s presidency, a noble action that is saving Ukraine from its obliteration. President Trump’s foreign policy doctrine towards Ukraine is strikingly similar to the gigantic role that Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th U.S. president, has played towards defending the territorial sovereignty and integrity of the Republic of Paraguay. In 1877 in the aftermath of the Triple Alliance War, a brutal conflict that nearly annihilated the Paraguayan nation and territory (1864 to 1870). The country lost huge portions of territory to victorious Brazil and Argentina. Later, Argentina tried to claim the Chaco, the vast wilderness region of northern Paraguay. At the time, there was no United Nations or World Court. Thus, the two sides asked the United States to settle the dispute — and President Hayes sided with Paraguay. The decision gave Paraguay 60 percent of its present territory and helped guarantee its survival as a nation.
Furthermore, Moscow is beginning to reshape its discourse and posture in relation to Washington DC. President Trump, as a leader with fortitude, intrepidity and surrounded by top notch diplomats and self-made billionaires, is making history by recalibrating U. S. strategic discourse and posture towards Russia and embarking on a path of prosperous economic cooperation with Kyiv.
The end of the War in Ukraine, will bring greater commercial cooperation between Moscow and Washington, in the coming years, especially under the leadership of President Trump.
On the other hand, the downside of this mineral’s agreement is that Ukraine will lose all territories that are currently controlled by the Russian Forces and its access to the Black Sea will be significantly limited and diminished. WOKE media in the U. S. continue to misinform the public in regard to Ukraine’s security assurances being encompassed on this landmark agreement. Corrupt Emmanuel Macron came out on the world stage as a poor negotiator and a mischievous European leader whose mistakes brought the war into Europe’s doorsteps. The 17 critical minerals including yttrium and scandium, that are found with abundance in Ukraine, such deposits will NOT be exploited by the P. R. China nor the Russian Federation."
Farid Azeri
Lamiya Shirinova
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
