Ukraine and US sign memorandum on minerals deal, Kyiv says

According to Kyiv’s first deputy prime minister and economy minister, the United States and Ukraine have signed a memorandum as the first step toward a conclusion of a mineral development agreement.

Yulia Svyrydenko, a member of the social media platform X, wrote, “We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which opens the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.”

In February, Kyiv and Washington had been talking about a deal to extract Ukraine’s strategic minerals, but a conflict between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy temporarily scuppered progress.

Trump claims that the agreement, which was intended to compensate for the aid provided to Ukraine by his predecessor, Joe Biden, should pay US royalty payments for the proceeds of Ukrainian mining of resources and rare minerals.

Svyrydenko said work was still being done to secure a final agreement despite not providing specifics about the memo.

We hope the Fund will be a useful tool for attracting money to help with our nation’s reconstruction, infrastructure modernization, business support, and the development of new economic opportunities, she said.

The document will be very useful for both countries given the significant progress and the current pace.

At the conclusion of last week, the Trump administration offered a new, more expansive deal, so the Ukrainian delegation made their way to Washington for negotiations. The original framework agreement that was reached has never been ratified.

Trump earlier told reporters at the White House, “We have a minerals deal, which I guess will be signed on Thursday.

Zelenskyy had previously stated that both nations could sign memorandas of intent online.

A memorandum of intent is present. And Zelenskyy in Kyiv stated to the media that we have good, constructive intentions.

The US side made the offer to sign the memorandum before the comprehensive agreement, which would need to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament, he added.

In the event of a ceasefire, US officials claim that bolstering American business interests in Ukraine will help deter Russian aggression in the future.