On Thursday Ukraine confirmed that the US and Ukraine had signed a "memorandum of intent" to move forward with the controversial minerals deal backed by Trump, which would give the United States a piece of the war-ravaged country's natural resources, including access to rare earth minerals. Some recent reports have questioned whether Ukraine even has rare earths, however.
"We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine," Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and economy minister, announced on X.
Precise details of where negotiations are at this point remain unclear, though prior drafts of the deal have been leaked by the Ukrainian side, which triggered an internal investigation to hunt down leakers, ordered by Zelensky.
"We hope that the Fund will become an effective tool for attracting investments in the reconstruction of our country, modernization of infrastructure, support for business, and the creation of new economic opportunities," Svyrydenko said.
A comprehensive deal could be signed as soon as next week, the White House has indicated, after many weeks of back-and-forth, and following diplomatic threats and counterthreats.
President Trump said during a White House press conference on Thursday:
"Well, we have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday — next Thursday [24 April]? Soon. And I assume they’re [Ukraine] going to live up to the deal, so we’ll see. But we have a deal on that."
Bessent added that "we’re still working on the details. We’re shooting for around April 26th."
The last time Zelensky was set to sign a minerals deal it didn't end up going so well. That's when he had visited the White House on Feb. 28 and had the war of words with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The US had then briefly paused all US weapons deliveries and intelligence-sharing, but days after resumed, albeit the intel-sharing has reportedly been limited.
Pro-Ukraine critics of Trump's policy have lamented this as a big resource grab, and of taking advantage of Ukraine while it's down, amid a grinding war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday warned allies, "The United States has been helping Ukraine over the last three years, and we want it to end, but it’s not our war." The US is ramping up pressure on both sides to quickly come to the table, saying that Trump's patience on lack of peace is wearing thin.
