Reconstruction fund in exchange for natural resources USA and Ukraine conclude a raw materials agreement after months of dispute
President Donald Trump wants to secure the USA access to Ukrainian natural resources. An agreement was long in the making. A first attempt failed - now the deal is done.
01.05.2025, 00:57
01.05.2025, 05:25
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- After a long struggle, the USA and Ukraine have agreed on the establishment of a reconstruction fund for the country attacked by Russia.
- The text of the agreement was not initially published.
- According to reports, however, an investment fund for the joint exploitation of Ukrainian natural resources is planned, which is intended to generate funds for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.
- This will give the USA privileged access to Ukrainian resources - including rare earth metals, which are important for high technology.
After a long struggle, the USA and Ukraine have agreed on the establishment of a reconstruction fund that will also grant the United States access to mineral resources in the country attacked by Russia. Both sides confirmed the agreement on Wednesday evening (local time) in Washington, but revealed only a few details. The agreement was reached at a crucial stage in the negotiations on a peace deal: US President Donald Trump is pushing for a swift end to the war in Ukraine and has recently expressed his frustration at the lack of progress.
In the past, the Republican has put Ukraine under massive pressure over the issue of resources. He viewed potential profits from the extraction of raw materials as compensation for financial and military support from the USA. Following the agreement that has now been reached, Trump emphasized that the USA would get back much more than it had previously invested. He reiterated his view that a US economic presence in Ukraine also represents a security guarantee for the country.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko signed the agreement in the US capital. The text of the agreement was not initially published. However, it provides for an investment fund for the joint exploitation of Ukrainian natural resources, which is intended to generate funds for the reconstruction of the war-torn country. This will give the USA privileged access to Ukrainian resources - including rare earth metals, which are important and strategically significant for high technology.
Bessent speaks of a clear signal to Russia
Trump's Finance Minister Bessent was not particularly specific about the content of the agreement, but expressed his satisfaction. The agreement is a clear signal to the Russian leadership that the Trump administration is committed to a long-term peace process that focuses on "a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine".
The Ukrainian deputy head of government Svyrydenko gave more details. She explained that the future reconstruction fund would invest in projects for the extraction of minerals, oil and gas as well as related infrastructure. "Ukraine and the United States will jointly determine the investment projects to be financed," she wrote on Facebook. Investments may only be made in Ukraine. In the first ten years, the fund should not distribute profits and income, but reinvest them.
To counter concerns in Ukraine about a possible sell-off, Svyrydenko emphasized that the fund would be operated on an equal footing with the USA. Ukraine will not pay its share of the fund from existing raw material projects, but will pay in 50 percent of the income from future extraction licenses or raw material sales. Svyrydenko's Facebook post was accompanied by a harmonious group photo showing her and Bessent next to smiling negotiators.
Svyrydenko: Ukraine does not have to repay military aid
A controversial issue in the negotiations was whether Ukraine would have to repay military and financial aid from the USA through the exploitation of raw materials. According to Svyrydenko, this is not the case.
The USA could also make its contribution to the fund with military aid, for example with anti-aircraft weapons, she explained. Ukraine would not have to bear any debts due to previous weapons or financial aid from the USA since the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022. None of the partner countries would have to pay taxes on the fund's income.
Negotiations on the agreement have been ongoing since February. However, after an unprecedented scandal between Trump, his Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj in the White House, they were on the verge of collapse. In the end, both countries were able to agree on a new approach. In mid-April, Kiev and Washington signed a declaration of intent to conclude the raw materials agreement.
Government: raw material deposits remain the property of Ukraine
The actual agreement still has to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament before it comes into force. Even before the deal was signed, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal assured: "Ukraine will retain control over its resources. This means that natural resources, infrastructure and raw materials are not part of or a prerequisite for the fund or the agreement."
Selensky proposed the agreement last fall in order to appeal to Trump's self-image as a businessman and to obtain security guarantees from the USA. According to all that is known, hopes for such guarantees were not initially fulfilled.
Selenskyj then met with Trump in Rome last weekend on the sidelines of the funeral service following the death of Pope Francis. Pictures of the two statesmen sitting opposite each other on two chairs went around the world. When asked what he had told Zelenskyi, Trump replied on US television that he had advised the Ukrainian to sign an agreement "because Russia is much bigger and much stronger".
Odessa under heavy drone fire
Meanwhile, Russia is continuing its war of aggression with undiminished ferocity. According to local authorities, two people were killed and five others injured in a major drone attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa last night. Multi-storey residential buildings, a supermarket, a school and cars were damaged and several fires broke out, according to regional governor Oleh Kiper. According to the authorities, the large city of Kharkiv and the town of Sumy, not far from the Russian border, were also attacked. The information could not be independently verified.