Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement that would give the U.S. access to its valuable rare minerals in the hopes of ensuring continued American support for Kyiv in its grinding war with Russia, senior Ukrainian officials said Wednesday.
Ukraine’s economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, was headed to Washington on Wednesday to help finalize the deal, the country's prime minister said live on air during a national telethon.
For Ukraine, the agreement is seen as key to ensuring its access to future U.S. military aid.
“Truly, this is a strategic deal for the creation of an investment partner fund,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Ukrainian television. “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.”
U.S. President Donald Trump indicated in February that he wanted access to Ukraine’s rare earth materials as a condition for continued U.S. support in 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 between U.S. and Ukrainian leaders, and reaching an agreement since then has proven difficult and strained relations between Washington and Kyiv.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the Trump administration was also ready to finalize the deal Wednesday.
The U.S. is seeking access to more than 20 raw materials deemed strategically critical to its interests, including 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, which are used to make electric vehicle batteries.
After Kyiv felt the initial U.S. draft of the deal disproportionately favored American interests, it introduced new provisions aimed at addressing those concerns.
According to Shmyhal, the latest version would establish an equal partnership between the two countries and last for 10 years. Financial contributions to a joint fund would be made in cash, and only new U.S. military aid would count toward the American share. Assistance provided before the agreement was signed would not be counted. Unlike an earlier draft, the deal would not conflict with Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership — a key provision for Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Cabinet was expected to approve the agreement’s text before it could be signed in Washington. The deal would then need to be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament before it could take effect.
The negotiations come amid rocky progress in Washington’s push to stop the war.
In Moscow, a senior Kremlin official said Wednesday that clinching a deal to end the war “is far too complex to be done quickly,” as the U.S. labors to bring momentum to peace efforts and expresses frustration over the slow progress.
Meanwhile, a nighttime Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv wounded at least 45 civilians, officials said. The United Nations reported that the number of Ukrainian civilian casualties has surged in recent weeks.
