The deal comes as Ukraine and Russia are engaged in ongoing cease-fire talks.
The United States and Ukraine on April 30 signed a partnership agreement covering Ukraine’s rare earth metals and other natural resources, according to both U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
“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.
“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.”
Trump has been working for months on a deal in which the United States could gain access to Ukraine’s natural resources.
Negotiations for this economic partnership hit an early setback during a Feb. 28 White House meeting in which Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed in front of the gathered media over how best to settle the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators have continued to revisit the discussions on Ukraine’s natural resources in the weeks that followed Zelenskyy’s White House visit.
Though Bessent signaled that the Trump administration is ready to finalize an agreement, he indicated that U.S. and Ukrainian representatives may not be on the same page.
“Ukrainians decided, last night, to make some last-minute changes. Well, we’re sure that they will reconsider,” Bessent said.
During a telethon earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko had departed for Washington to sign a deal.
A source familiar with the White House’s terms told The Epoch Times that it is not one but three different documents and that the Ukrainian side must sign all of them for the Trump administration to consider the deal complete.
This source said Svyrydenko was advised not to depart for the United States if Kyiv hasn’t finished negotiations and finalized the agreements.
The White House has yet to release the full details of the deal concerning Ukraine’s resources.
Trump has routinely positioned the minerals deal as a way for the United States to recoup some of its costs for supporting Ukraine throughout its ongoing war with Russia.
Earlier this week, Shmyhal said the emerging minerals deal would not compensate the United States for its previous wartime support.
This is a developing report and will be updated with additional details.
