U.S. and Ukraine sign landmark minerals deal to fund reconstruction and secure aid repayment
Pranjal Chandra | May 01, 2025, 22:47 IST
( Image credit : PTI )
The U.S. and Ukraine have finalized a minerals and investment agreement, establishing the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. This fund aims to revitalize Ukraine's economy by investing in its critical minerals and energy sectors, potentially recouping some of the U.S. military aid. Ukrainian officials emphasize that the agreement preserves national sovereignty over subsoil rights.
In a pivotal economic move, the United States and Ukraine have signed a minerals and investment agreement that ties together post-war reconstruction, energy development, and repayment for U.S. military aid. The deal long in the making was finalized Wednesday in Washington by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
The agreement creates the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which will enable Washington to invest in Ukraine’s critical minerals sector and energy infrastructure. Officials describe the fund as a mechanism to jump-start Ukraine’s war-ravaged economy while allowing the U.S. to begin recouping portions of the more than $66 billion it has provided in military assistance since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Despite early speculation about foreign control, Ukrainian officials were quick to emphasize that the agreement maintains national sovereignty.
The fund will be jointly governed, with neither the U.S. nor Ukraine holding dominant control, and will be financed using new oil, gas, and critical mineral licenses. Half of all revenue generated from these licenses will be channeled into the fund, which will then invest exclusively in Ukraine-based projects.
Svyrydenko also confirmed that any contributions from the U.S. to the fund will not be taxed by either country.
Treasury Secretary Bessent hailed the agreement as a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s economic diplomacy.
President Trump, who has made repayment for military aid a key foreign policy demand, praised the deal as both “good for the American taxpayer” and a pathway to peace. At a Cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday, he remarked on Ukraine's resource wealth, saying: “Rare earth is called rare for a reason, and they have a lot. And we made a deal where our money is secure, where we can start digging.”
Trump has previously floated inflated estimates of Ukraine’s mineral value, citing figures as high as $500 billion, though most experts place the actual value of rare earth minerals closer to $12 billion, noting that many geological surveys of the region are decades old.
The deal has drawn sharp criticism from Moscow. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev characterized the agreement as a capitulation by Kyiv.
Despite these attacks, the Trump administration framed the deal as a move toward lasting peace. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump had a highly public falling-out during talks in February, Trump said Wednesday that their relationship had since improved and called the eventual agreement “beautiful.”
Although no specific repayment schedule was outlined, and Svyrydenko confirmed that the deal includes “no provisions regarding any Ukrainian debt obligations to the United States,” the agreement is seen as an early framework for how Ukraine might manage its economic reconstruction and the geopolitics tied to it.
While the exact size of the U.S. investment remains undisclosed, the strategic move could reshape both Ukraine’s recovery and America’s role in post-war Europe.
The agreement creates the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which will enable Washington to invest in Ukraine’s critical minerals sector and energy infrastructure. Officials describe the fund as a mechanism to jump-start Ukraine’s war-ravaged economy while allowing the U.S. to begin recouping portions of the more than $66 billion it has provided in military assistance since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Shared ownership, Ukrainian sovereignty
The fund will be jointly governed, with neither the U.S. nor Ukraine holding dominant control, and will be financed using new oil, gas, and critical mineral licenses. Half of all revenue generated from these licenses will be channeled into the fund, which will then invest exclusively in Ukraine-based projects.
Svyrydenko also confirmed that any contributions from the U.S. to the fund will not be taxed by either country.
Economic and political motivations
President Trump, who has made repayment for military aid a key foreign policy demand, praised the deal as both “good for the American taxpayer” and a pathway to peace. At a Cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday, he remarked on Ukraine's resource wealth, saying: “Rare earth is called rare for a reason, and they have a lot. And we made a deal where our money is secure, where we can start digging.”
Trump has previously floated inflated estimates of Ukraine’s mineral value, citing figures as high as $500 billion, though most experts place the actual value of rare earth minerals closer to $12 billion, noting that many geological surveys of the region are decades old.
Kremlin reaction and political optics
Despite these attacks, the Trump administration framed the deal as a move toward lasting peace. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump had a highly public falling-out during talks in February, Trump said Wednesday that their relationship had since improved and called the eventual agreement “beautiful.”
Uncertain impact, but a strategic signal
While the exact size of the U.S. investment remains undisclosed, the strategic move could reshape both Ukraine’s recovery and America’s role in post-war Europe.