Updated May 1, 2025 at 11:28 AM EDT
KYIV — The United States and Ukraine have created a new reconstruction and investment fund that will give the U.S. access to Ukraine's reserves of critical minerals and natural resources.
The deal is also intended to give Ukraine tacit security guarantees, so the country can protect itself against future Russian aggression, and also help Ukraine rebuild and develop after defending itself from more than three years of Russia's full-scale war.
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who flew to Washington to sign the deal Wednesday, hailed the agreement as a way to attract global investment to Ukraine.
This version of the agreement "provides mutually beneficial conditions for both countries," she wrote on Facebook. "This is an agreement in which the United States notes its commitment to promoting long-term peace in Ukraine and recognizes the contribution that Ukraine has made to global security by giving up its nuclear arsenal." (She was referring to a U.S.-brokered arrangement, in the years that followed the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, that transferred nuclear warheads from Ukraine to Russia in exchange for international security guarantees.)
In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the deal a "historic economic partnership" and said "the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war."
"Importantly, this partnership sends a strong message to Russia — the United States has skin in the game and is committed to Ukraine's long-term success," a White House fact sheet says.
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What's in the deal?
The White House says the deal will create a fund, governed by three board members from each country, where each countries will receive half of royalties, license fees and other proceeds from national resource projects in Ukraine. The United States will have first right of refusal on buying the resources, or designating the buyer, the White House fact sheet says.
Trump has long marveled at Ukraine's rare earth metals, which are key components in certain batteries and other technologies that are in demand.
The White House says the investment projects covered by the agreement will go beyond minerals to also include hydrocarbons — such as oil and gas — and related infrastructure development.
Maxim Timchenko, CEO of Ukrainian energy provider DTEK, said in a statement the reconstruction fund is "a significant step forward in the country's recovery from war," that will help accelerate private investment in a country "with some of the largest untapped reserves in Europe."
Speaking on Ukraine's ICTV network ahead of the signing Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the investment fund would be a 50-50 partnership with the U.S. and would assist Ukraine's reconstruction and development.
Shmyhal said in this deal Ukraine would determine where and what to extract and "does not mention any debt obligations of Ukraine to the United States." President Trump has suggested in the past that the deal be used to pay the U.S. back for aid already given Ukraine.
A senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the details with reporters, confirmed the agreement won't have debt obligations. "This is not a debt-line agreement that has so often dominated international financial decision-making," the official said.
It could restore Ukraine-U.S. relations
Volodymyr Landa, a senior economist at the Centre for Economic Strategy in Kyiv, has followed the minerals deal closely for months.
"Ideally," he told NPR, "the agreement could restore constructive relations between our two countries by defining the format of further U.S. military and financial support to Ukraine."
The deal is also a victory of sorts for Ukraine, after some tense exchanges with the Trump administration.
In February, Trump had pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign an agreement that would give Ukraine very little and would have used profits to recoup aid the U.S. has already approved for the country.
Zelenskyy refused to sign that agreement, saying it would leave generations of Ukrainians in debt. On Feb. 28, President Trump and Vice President Vance publicly berated Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, leaving the deal in limbo.
But both leaders had an opportunity to talk face to face when they attended Pope Francis' funeral in Rome on Saturday. Zelenskyy described it as a "good meeting" in a social media post. White House communications director Steven Cheung told reporters that both leaders "had a very productive discussion" and said more details about the meeting would follow.
The deal must be approved by Ukraine's parliament.
NPR's Hanna Palamarenko contributed to this report from Kyiv.
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