After months of tense negotiations, the U.S. and Ukraine signed a landmark minerals agreement on April 30,
2025, launching the United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
The deal signals a strategic alignment on energy security, sustainable development, and regional stability.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, “Under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, the Treasury and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will collaborate with the Ukrainian government to finalize governance and operationalize the partnership.”
The agreement emerged amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine (since 2022), during which the U.S. has provided over $180 billion in military and economic aid. Early in the war, President Zelenskyy proposed leveraging U.S. investment in Ukraine’s natural resources in return for continued defense support. Following the 2024 U.S. election, President Trump made further aid contingent on a formal “resource agreement,” at one point controversially demanding $500 billion in mineral revenues—an amount Ukraine deemed unviable. Prolonged negotiations ultimately led to the deal’s signing on April 30, 2025, by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
But What Does That Really Imply?
Firstly, negotiations took longer than expected due to Ukraine's insistence on ensuring the deal wouldn't be construed as repayment for past aid. This stance reflected tensions highlighted in a heated February meeting between Presidents Zelensky and Trump, during which Trump emphasized that Ukraine owed its survival to prior U.S. support.
Key Takeaways:
• Sovereignty Over Resources: Ukraine retains full control over its subsoil, infrastructure, and natural resources.
• Defense Cooperation: The U.S. will bolster Ukraine’s defense capabilities, enhance military interoperability, and expand intelligence sharing.
• Crisis Coordination: In the event of renewed aggression, both parties will consult within 24 hours to determine a joint response.
• Economic and Institutional Support: The deal promotes Ukraine’s economic recovery, energy security, and reforms aligned with Euro-Atlantic integration.
• Accountability for Russian Aggression: Both nations commit to pursuing compensation for war damages and supporting war crimes investigations.
• Mineral Resource Framework: The agreement specifies 57 covered minerals—including uranium, lithium, rare earths, gold, platinum, oil, and gas.
• Tax and Trade Terms: Fund-related revenues will be tax-exempt in both countries, and the U.S. pledges not to impose tariffs on Ukrainian mineral exports.
• Currency Conversion Protections: Ukraine guarantees convertibility of hryvnia to dollars for relevant
transactions, with conditional safeguards in case of foreign exchange instability, pending consultation with
the U.S. Treasury.
On May 1, 2025, President Zelensky hailed the agreement as a historic milestone, emphasizing its potential to attract investment, boost bilateral prosperity, and create momentum for future cooperation despite the ongoing war.