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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed a new minerals agreement with the United States as a “truly equal” partnership, saying it offers Ukraine significant investment without adding to its debt burden, despite providing no direct security guarantees.
The long-anticipated deal, which took months of negotiations, will see the US and Ukraine jointly invest in and develop Ukraine’s critical mineral resources. It aims to bolster Ukraine’s economic recovery and attract international funding, even as the country continues to face relentless Russian attacks.
“The agreement changed significantly during the talks,” Zelensky said in a televised address. “Now it is a genuinely equal agreement that opens the door to substantial investment in Ukraine. There is no debt involved, and a recovery fund will be established to invest in Ukraine and generate returns here.”
The agreement was initially expected to be signed in February, but a political dispute between then-US President Donald Trump and Zelensky delayed its finalisation. It still requires ratification by Ukraine’s parliament.
Trump has referred to the deal as a form of “money back” for the wartime aid Ukraine received under President Joe Biden. However, Ukrainian officials maintain the agreement is not linked to any past debt, and US representatives have emphasised that the deal underlines Washington’s ongoing support for Ukraine.
Under the agreement, a joint Reconstruction Investment Fund will be established, with profits reinvested exclusively in Ukraine for the first decade. After that, the returns may be shared between the two partners.
Although the accord does not include explicit security assurances, US officials argue that deepening economic ties with Ukraine will help deter further Russian aggression.
Renewed Russian Assaults Follow Agreement
Shortly after the deal was announced, Russia launched a significant drone attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia, damaging a Soviet-era residential building and injuring at least 14 people. The assault followed fresh calls by Zelensky for Ukraine’s allies to increase pressure on Moscow to bring an end to the war.
“Our partners must increase the pressure on Russia to force it to be quiet and to negotiate,” Zelensky said, echoing growing frustration over the lack of a breakthrough in peace efforts.
Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing its 17th round of sanctions against Russia. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking after talks in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said Russian President Vladimir Putin remains “the sole obstacle” to peace in Ukraine.
Efforts to reach a ceasefire have so far faltered. A 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US and Ukraine in March was rejected by Moscow, which instead demanded an end to Western military support for Kyiv.
US Vice President JD Vance expressed cautious optimism, saying he believed a pause in hostilities could still be achieved but acknowledged that any final decision must come from Kyiv and Moscow.
“They’re the ones who have to take the final step,” Vance told Fox News.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, warned that the US might eventually walk away from peace talks if progress stalls, pointing to other pressing global concerns. “I would say what’s happening with China is more important in the long-term for the future of the world,” he said.
Putin, in a surprise move, has announced a temporary three-day truce from 8–10 May, to coincide with Russia’s commemorations of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day marking the end of World War II.
