US And Ukraine Strike Critical Mineral Deal To Boost Supply Chains And Guarantee Ukrainian Security

Ukraine agreed with the US to jointly develop its wealth of natural resources as part of a deal that could ease tension with President Donald Trump and advance his administration’s goal of a ceasefire with Russia, people familiar with the matter said.

Ukraine’s cabinet is expected to recommend on Wednesday that the agreement be signed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is planning to travel to the US Friday to seal the accord, the people said.

“I hear that he’s coming on Friday,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday. “Certainly it’s okay with me, if you’d like to, and he would like to sign it together with me. And I understand that’s a big deal.”

The agreement is at the heart of a diplomatic push by the new Trump administration to fulfill the president’s pledge to bring the three-year war to an end quickly. The minerals deal came together after the US dropped the demand for Ukraine to commit to paying $500 billion from resource extraction to a fund as a form of repayment for US aid, one person said.

The framework agreement would create a joint US-Ukraine fund to manage future revenues from the country’s natural resources, according to the person. US officials have said that binding Ukraine to the US through economic ties would provided a de facto security shield.

The deal may also offer Trump a way to encourage buy-in from his supporters for continued backing for Ukraine, particularly if Washington needs Congress to approve additional aid for Ukraine if negotiations with Russia continue to drag on.

Should this deal be finalized, it could be a win for all sides. The US will be gaining valuable resources, a partial repayment for the hundreds of billions of dollars in military equipment it has given Ukraine, and will be tied to defending Ukraine militarily. Ukraine will thus get guaranteed US military protection from Russia. And European nations will be forced to start pulling more of their weight.