From Kyiv To The USA: America Eyes Ukraine’s Mineral Riches

The U.S. and Ukraine are nearing a deal that would hand valuable mineral rights to the U.S., an agreement that the Trump administration has sought as compensation for military aid to fight off Russia’s invasion, people familiar with the matter said. 

Ukraine had refused to sign such a deal earlier this week, sparking a war of words between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and fears of a break in relations between Washington and Kyiv. 

In an apparent nod to an impending deal, Zelensky said in a nightly video address Friday that teams of U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators were working on a draft agreement.

“This is an agreement that can strengthen our relations, and the key is to work out the details to ensure its effectiveness,” he said. “I look forward to the outcome—a just result.” 

Zelensky was presented with a deal by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv last week, but refused to sign, saying the Ukrainian side needed to study it further and that a deal should contain some form of security guarantees for Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said that they had only a few hours to study it before it was presented to them. 

This deal, which has been negotiated without input from Western Europe, would be beneficial to both the US and Ukraine for multiple reasons. It would give the US minerals and resources that will benefit America. And it will thus give the US a stake in protecting them, meaning that the US will have a stake in defending Ukraine.

As a result, Ukraine will not have to worry about wavering US support; the US will be committed to it. And the US will have gotten something in return for the amount of resources it has poured into Ukraine to keep it from capitulating to Russia.

The deal has not yet been finalized, but things are going in the right direction. And we will end up with what both sides wanted; a Ukraine with guaranteed American protection, and an America that will be rewarded for the resources it has put into defending Ukraine.