Ukraine and US near landmark mineral resources agreement
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated on Wednesday that a Ukrainian-American agreement on mineral resources could be signed within the next 24 hours.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is currently heading to Washington to finalize arrangements with U.S. counterparts. He indicated that once the remaining details are settled, the agreement is expected to be signed imminently—potentially within a day—marking the beginning of the next phase.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the mineral agreement between the US and Ukraine could be signed as early as Wednesday.
Reuters also reported on the possible Wednesday signing of the agreement, citing a source in the Ukrainian government. The source said that the agreement could be signed late in the evening.
According to Bloomberg's source, the draft agreement provides for the creation of a joint Ukrainian-American fund to manage investment projects in Ukraine. As part of the agreement, both parties aim to create conditions to "increase investment in mining, energy, and related technologies in Ukraine."
In addition, Washington has agreed that only the military aid it provides to Kyiv after the agreement is signed will be counted within the fund as the US contribution. Bloomberg recalled the words of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who said on Sunday that the US had waived previous demands to include tens of billions of dollars in aid provided to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion in the agreement.
The agreement "strengthens the strategic partnership between the Parties for the long-term reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, in response to the large-scale destruction caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion", according to the document obtained by Bloomberg.
A source cited by Bloomberg stated that two other technical agreements that will define how the joint fund operates have not yet been finalised.
At the beginning of April, US and Ukrainian representatives signed a letter of intent and worked on determining the technical details of the agreement regarding Ukrainian mineral resources.
Previous attempts to reach an agreement failed due to a public argument on 28 February at the White House between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. The next meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and the US, this time a one-on-one, took place on Saturday at the Vatican before the funeral of Pope Francis.
