Ukraine confirms ‘preliminary’ agreement on mineral resources with U.S.

Ukraine said on Wednesday it had reached a “preliminary” deal to hand revenue from some of its mineral resources to the United States, before an expected trip to Washington by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

The deal is central to Ukrainian attempts to ensure strong support from U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, with U.S.-Russian talks that have so far excluded Kyiv set to continue on Thursday.

“The main thing for me is we are not debtors. There is no $500 billion US debt in the agreement, nor $350, nor $100 billion because that would be unfair,” Zelenskyy told a news briefing of the agreement.

Trump has cast the deal as a repayment for billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv during the war. Zelenskyy has been asking for security guarantees in exchange for the mineral rights, but it is unclear whether those demands have been successful.

“This agreement is part of our larger agreements with the United States. This agreement could be part of future security guarantees… An agreement is an agreement, but we need to understand the broader vision,” Zelenskyy said.

“This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump.”

No interest in a ‘colonial treaty’: Ukraine PM

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said Washington would commit to supporting Kyiv’s efforts to obtain security guarantees under the finalized deal, but the Americans offered no security pledges of their own.

Shmyhal said Ukraine’s government would authorize the agreed wording later on Wednesday so it could be signed. He described it as a “preliminary” agreement.

Shmyhal, outlining the agreement in televised comments, said Kyiv would contribute 50 per cent of “all proceeds received from the future monetization of all relevant state-owned natural resource assets and relevant infrastructure.”

Those proceeds would go into a fund under the joint control of the United States and Ukraine, he said, adding that no decision about the governance of the fund could be taken without Kyiv’s agreement.

“Already existing deposits, facilities, licenses and rents are not subject to discussion when creating this fund,” he added.

He said: “Of course, neither the president nor the government would ever sign or consider … a colonial treaty that did not take into account the interests of the state.”

A copy of a draft agreement, seen by Reuters and dated Feb. 25, was titled “Bilateral Agreement Establishing Terms and Conditions for a Reconstruction Investment Fund.”

It says: “The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.”

While discussions have been taking place on the minerals deal, Washington and Moscow have begun bilateral talks.

Russia’s Lavrov rejects idea of post-war peacekeepers

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said talks on Thursday between Kremlin and American officials in Istanbul would be on resolving bilateral disputes that are part of a wider dialogue the sides see as crucial to ending the Ukraine war.

Lavrov said Moscow could not consider “any options” for European peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine and that the idea was aimed at fuelling the conflict and making it harder to de-escalate. 

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke in favour of the concept during talks with Trump on Monday, saying troops could be deployed to ensure that any peace deal was respected. Trump said he accepted the idea and that Russian President Vladimir Putin did too, though the Kremlin later indicated that Russian opposition to it was unchanged. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is due to hold talks with Trump on Thursday, has said he would be ready to send British troops to Ukraine as part of any postwar peacekeeping force. 

But Lavrov, who has previously called the proposal “unacceptable,” set out Moscow’s objections to any deployment in some of the strongest terms yet, removing any doubt about the matter after Trump’s suggestion that Putin had come round to the idea. 

“We cannot consider any options” when it comes to European peacekeepers, he said during a visit to Qatar.

“This approach, which is being imposed by the Europeans, primarily France, but also the British, is aimed at what I just mentioned: to further fuel the conflict and to stop any attempts to calm it down,” he added.

Doubling down on Russia’s so far maximalist approach to any potential settlement over Ukraine, Lavrov indicated Moscow still wanted full control over four regions it claims as its own in any deal, despite Ukrainian objections.

In fighting on Wednesday, Russian guided bomb attacks on Ukraine’s eastern town of Kostiantynivka killed at least five people and wounded eight, the town’s regional Donetsk governor said.

At least three bombs had been used to target the town and its suburbs, the governor said on the Telegram messenger.

“Recently, Russian attacks on civilians in Kostiantynivka have become more frequent and more severe,” he added.