US President Donald Trump's administration has signed a "historic" economic partnership deal with Ukraine, after weeks of intense negotiation to allow Washington access to Kiev's rare minerals deposits, both countries said.
"I am glad to announce the signing of today's historic economic partnership agreement," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday in a video message describing the deal as "historic."
Kiev said it secured promises of control over its resources.
Both sides signed the deal after US President Donald Trump pushed Ukraine to pay back Washington for helping Kiev repel Russia.
A senior Ukrainian official said that she had signed an agreement on creating a US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund which would allow both countries to expand their economic potential and also contribute to Ukraine's security.
"Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country," First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X.
"Its implementation allows both countries to expand their economic potential through equal cooperation and investment," she wrote.
"The United States will contribute to the fund. In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide new assistance — for example air defence systems for Ukraine."
Ukraine retains control of natural resources
Trump had demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth, vital to new technologies, after demanding compensation for the billions of dollars in US weapons sent since Russia-Ukraine war began just over three years ago.
After initial hesitation, Ukraine accepted the accord as a way to secure long-term investment by the US, as Trump tries to drastically scale back US security commitments around the world.
In Kiev, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said the two countries would establish a Reconstruction Investment Fund with each side having 50 percent voting rights.
"Ukraine retains full control over its subsoil, infrastructure and natural resources," he said.
Meeting a key concern for Ukraine, he said Ukraine would not be asked to pay back any "debt" for the billions of dollars in US weapons and other support.
"The fund's profits will be reinvested exclusively in Ukraine," he said.
Trump had originally sought $500 billion in mineral wealth — around four times what the United States has contributed to Ukraine since the war.
Trump has balked at offering security guarantees to Ukraine and has rejected its aspiration to join NATO.
But Trump said on Wednesday that a US presence on the ground would benefit Ukraine.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin says, "Korean friends acted based on a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship."
Rich in mineral wealth
Ukraine holds some five percent of the world's mineral resources and rare earths, according to various estimates.
But work has not yet started on tapping many of the resources and many sites are in territory now occupied by Russian forces.
Notably, Ukraine has around 20 percent of the world's graphite, an essential material for electric batteries, according to France's Bureau of Geological and Mining Research.
Ukraine is also a major producer of manganese and titanium, and says it possesses the largest lithium deposits in Europe.
Russia controls about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory after more than three years of brutal fighting that has killed tens of thousands including civilians.
