Ukraine signs key economic deal sought by US

The US and Ukraine announced on an economic agreement after a weekslong press by President Donald Trump on Ukraine to compensate Washington for billions in military and economic assistance to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video posted to X that "this partnership allows the United States to invest alongside Ukraine, to unlock Ukraine’s growth assets, mobilise American talent, capital and governance standards that will improve Ukraine’s investment climate and accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery".

The announcement comes at a critical moment in the war as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with leaders of Russia and Ukraine with the brutal fighting dragging on.

The American president has criticised his Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for steps that he said were prolonging the killing, and he has rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin for complicating negotiations with "very bad timing" in launching deadly strikes on Kyiv.

Trump on Saturday (local time) met with Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral.

Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in a post on X celebrated the breakthrough.

"Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment to our country," she said.

The two sides offered only barebone details about the structure of the deal, but it is expected to give the US access to its valuable rare minerals in the hopes of ensuring continued American support for Kyiv in its grinding war with Russia.

Ukraine's economy minister and deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, flew to Washington on Wednesday to help finalise the deal, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during an appearance on Ukrainian television.

Although the main part of the agreement had been settled, there were still hurdles to overcome, said a senior Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

For Ukraine, the agreement is seen as key to ensuring its access to future US military aid.

"Truly, this is a strategic deal for the creation of an investment partner fund," Shmyhal said. "This is truly an equal and good international deal on joint investment in the development and restoration of Ukraine between the governments of the United States and Ukraine."

Trump began his push for a deal in February that he wanted access to Ukraine’s rare earth materials as a condition for continued US support in the war, describing it as reimbursement for the billions of dollars in aid the US has given to Kyiv.

But talks stalled after a tense Oval Office meeting of US and Ukrainian leaders, and reaching an agreement since then has proven difficult and strained relations between Washington and Kyiv.

Negotiations appeared to drag on till shortly before the two sides confirmed an agreement had been signed off on the deal.

Earlier Wednesday, Bessent said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House — hours after Ukrainian officials indicated a deal was nearly finalised — that there was still work to do.

"The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last-minute changes," Bessent said when asked about reports that Ukraine was ready to agree to the pact.

"We’re sure that they will reconsider that. And we are ready to sign this afternoon if they are."

He didn't elaborate as to the late changes he said Ukraine made.

The US has been seeking access to more than 20 raw materials deemed strategically critical to its interests, including some non-minerals such as oil and natural gas.

Among them are Ukraine's deposits of titanium, which is used for making aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, and uranium, which is used for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons. Ukraine also has lithium, graphite and manganese, which are used in electric vehicle batteries.

After Kyiv felt the initial US draft of the deal disproportionately favoured American interests, it introduced new provisions aimed at addressing those concerns.

According to Shmyhal, the latest version would establish an equal partnership between the two countries and last for 10 years.

Financial contributions to a joint fund would be made in cash, and only new US military aid would count toward the American share. Assistance provided before the agreement was signed would not be counted. Unlike an earlier draft, the deal would not conflict with Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership — a key provision for Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Cabinet approved the agreement Wednesday, empowering Svyrydenko to sign it in Washington. Once signed by both sides, the deal would need to be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament before it could take effect.

The negotiations come amid rocky progress in Washington's push to stop the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin backs calls for a ceasefire before peace negotiations, "but before it’s done, it’s necessary to answer a few questions and sort out a few nuances," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"We realise that Washington wants to achieve quick progress, but we hope for understanding that the Ukrainian crisis settlement is far too complex to be done quickly," Peskov said during his daily conference call with reporters.

Trump has expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress in negotiations aimed at stopping the war. Western European leaders have accused Putin of stalling while his forces seek to grab more Ukrainian land. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory since Moscow's forces launched a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

Trump has long dismissed the war as a waste of lives and American taxpayer money — a complaint he repeated Wednesday during his Cabinet meeting. That could spell an end to crucial military help for Ukraine and heavier economic sanctions on Russia.

The US State Department on Tuesday tried again to push both sides to move more quickly and warned that the US could pull out of the negotiations if there's no progress.

"We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict," department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce quoted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as telling her.

Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt to Ukraine’s mobilisation effort and Western arms supplies to Kyiv.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Wednesday that Ukraine had accepted an unconditional truce only because it was being pushed back on the battlefield, where the bigger Russian forces have the upper hand.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians have been killed or wounded in attacks every day this year, according to a UN report presented Tuesday in New York.

The UN Human Rights Office said in the report that in the first three months of this year, it had verified 2,641 civilian casualties in Ukraine. That was almost 900 more than during the same period last year.

Also, between April 1-24, civilian casualties in Ukraine were up 46% from the same weeks in 2024, it said.

The daily grind of the war shows no sign of letting up. A nighttime Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, wounded at least 45 civilians, Ukrainian officials said.

Also Wednesday, the Ukrainian Security Service claimed its drones struck the Murom Instrument Engineering Plant in Russia’s Vladimir region overnight, causing five explosions and a fire at the military facility. The claim could not be independently verified.