The United States and Ukraine on Wednesday signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what US President Donald Trump’s administration called a new form of American commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid.
Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped.
Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine’s mineral wealth as compensation for the billions of dollars in US weapons sent under former US president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago.
After initial hesitation, Ukraine has accepted a minerals accord as a way to secure long-term investment by the United States, as Trump tries to drastically scale back US security commitments around the world.
Announcing the signing of what he called a “historic” deal in Washington, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it showed “both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine”.
“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Bessent said.
