What we know so far

Washington and Kyiv have signed a long -awaited deal with the natural resources of Ukraine, after months of controversial negotiations.

Details are still about the agreement, but both parties have confirmed that it draws up an investment fund to look for minerals and to postpone how the income would be split.

In a statement, the US said that the agreement “signals to Russia” is that the Trump government “is dedicated to a peace process aimed at a free, sovereign and prosperous” Ukraine.

It comes a little more than two months after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Zensky in the White House turned into a public screaming competition that has the reason for fear that the US could withdraw the support for Ukraine.

The Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko flew to Washington on Wednesday after a clear breakthrough in negotiations to sign the deal with the US Finance Minister Scott Bessent.

After he came to Bessent at a signing ceremony, Svyrydenko mentioned his provisions on social media.

Post on X, she said that the deal is set up a reconstruction investment fund to attract Western investments in Ukrainian projects in minerals, oil and gas.

She says that the resources will remain the property of Ukraine, and Kyiv will choose where the extract should do.

The partnership will be the same, on a 50/50 basis, she says, adding that the agreement does not include a debt obligation for the US.

The US will play a role in helping to attract investments and technology for the projects in Ukraine.

As part of the deal, the US will contribute new help to KYIV, which can, for example, include air defense systems.

She says that the income and contributions of the fund will not be taxed by both countries.

Svyrydenko says that the deal still has to be ratified by Ukrainian legislators.

The agreement acknowledges the contributions that Ukraine has made to Global Security, she writes, and thanks everyone who has worked to mediate it.

It is unclear whether the deal includes an explicit security guarantee of the US, something that Zensky has pushed hard for during the negotiations.

A statement from the US Department of Finance said: “No state or person who has financed or delivered the Russian war machine, can benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

Trump, for his part, said that the deal is a payback time for the money that the US has spent on the war so far.

“Biden gave them $ 350 billion,” Trump said in a phone call to a town hall on the Nieuwsnation network. He added: “We have concluded a deal where we in theory get much more than the $ 350 billion.”

Trump has made the claim that the US spent around $ 350 billion (£ 263 billion) on Ukraine on various occasions. But a BBC verifier analysis showed that the actual amount is much lower.

When asked if the presence of the US in Ukraine could hinder Russia in the region, he said “it could be”.

Kyiv estimates that about 5% of the world’s ‘critical raw materials’ is in Ukraine.

This includes approximately 19 million tonnes of proven graphite reserves, the Ukrainian Geological Survey State Agency says that the nation makes “one of the top five leading countries” for the offer of the mineral. Graphite is used to make batteries for electric vehicles.

Ukraine also has important deposits of titanium and lithium. It says that it has considerable amounts of rare earth metals in the world – a group of 17 elements used to produce weapons, wind turbines, electronics and other products of vital importance in the modern world – but these claims are disputed.

Some mineral deposits from the country have also been seized by Russia. According to Svyrydenko, resources of $ 350 billion (£ 277 billion) remain in occupied territories today.

There are also warnings that a deal that allows the American access to the enormous mineral wealth of Ukraine cannot happen unless the country tackles its problem with non -depleted mines.

A quarter of the country mass of Ukraine is estimated to be infected with landmines, mainly concentrated in the war torn east of the country.

Another problem is that it will take some time before someone sees material benefits of the deal.

“These resources are not in a port or warehouse; they must be developed,” Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former minister and head of KYIV School of Economics, told the BBC.

Russia does not yet have to comment on the deal, but earlier this year Vladimir Putin told the state of TV that he was ready to “offer” resources to American partners in joint projects, including mining in the “new territories” of Russia – a reference to parts of Eastern -ukraine occupied by Russia three years ago.

Putin said that a potential VS-Ukraine deal for rare minerals was not concerned and that Russia is “undoubtedly, I want to emphasize, considerably more such means than Ukraine”.

“As far as the new areas are concerned, it is the same. We are ready to go foreign partners to the so -called new ones, to our historic areas that have returned to the Russian Federation,” he added.