US and Ukraine Sign Minerals Deal – ‘No State Who Financed Russian War Machine Will Benefit From Reconstruction’

Kyiv and Washington signed a long-awaited deal on Wednesday establishing a joint fund that shares in the investment in, and profits from, the extraction of Ukrainian natural resources.

“On April 30, the United States and Ukraine signed an agreement to establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund,” a press release from the US administration said. “This economic partnership positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to ensure that our mutual assets, talents, and capabilities can accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery.”

“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term… And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Kyiv had “approved the decisions necessary to sign an agreement” with Washington on the country’s subsoil resources and establish the Recovery Investment Fund as part of the deal. 

The US-Ukraine deal will be based on the principles of parity, Ukrainian ownership of resources and infrastructure, absence of debt, alignment with EU accession goals, and “take-or-pay” terms with guaranteed investors, Shmyhal wrote in his Thursday Telegram update. 

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In a Telegram update, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said Shmyhal’s statement means that Kyiv has finalized its preparations, and Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko could sign the deal. 

Svyrydenko had arrived in Washington earlier on Wednesday to sign the agreement, and the Ukrainian Cabinet was ready to approve it as soon as possible, a government source previously confirmed to Kyiv Post.

Shmyhal said the finalized agreement is based on five key principles:  

• Parity: The Fund will be created on a 50/50 basis, with both parties having equal voting rights.  
• Preservation of control: Ukraine retains full control over its subsoil resources, infrastructure and natural assets.  
• New investments, not debt: The agreement does not entail any debt obligations.  
• Guaranteed investors and buyers: The Fund will invest in projects and guarantee commercial product purchases under “take-or-pay” terms.  
• Alignment with EU integration: The agreement will not hinder Ukraine’s path toward EU membership.

“The government has approved the decisions necessary to sign an agreement between Ukraine and the United States on the establishment of a Recovery Investment Fund,” Shmyhal wrote. 

The Fund will be capitalized with contributions from both the US and Ukraine. Its profits will be reinvested exclusively in Ukraine, according to Shmyhal. 

“Thanks to this agreement, we will be able to attract substantial resources for reconstruction, launch economic growth, and gain access to cutting-edge technologies from our partners and a strategic investor – the United States,” he added. 

What we know about the final deal

According to a draft of the critical minerals deal viewed by Kyiv Post, Ukraine will retain full ownership of all assets, including subsoil resources. Revenue sharing will be restricted to new licenses only, not legacy contracts. 

Profits from the critical minerals, oil, and gas industries will be included, but state-owned companies like Ukrnafta will remain under Ukrainian control. 

The Fund will finance reconstruction efforts, with both sides contributing – including via future US military aid in the form of air defense, a notable change from the last deal draft.

All funds from the agreement can be exclusively invested in Ukraine, although revenues are not expected to be earned from the Fund for at least a decade. 

The new deal does not include any debt obligations from Ukraine to the US – a heated point of contention that was originally sensationalized by Trump’s fully debunked claim that the US had given Kyiv $350 billion since the start of the full-scale invasion.