Ukraine and U.S. Sign Economic Deal for Minerals

The Trump administration reached a deal Wednesday with Ukraine giving the U.S. access to its mineral wealth, overcoming last-minute haggling that had held up an agreement President Trump had sought to compensate the U.S. for helping Ukraine fight off Russia's invasion.

- Alan Cullison & Jane Lytvynenko

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed the deal as a step toward a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine and a beginning of the country's reconstruction. In tightly controlled negotiations, the Trump administration dropped its insistence that the agreement allow Washington to recoup billions of dollars of past military aid.

"As the President has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war," Bessent said in a press release. "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."

The agreement marks an improvement in relations between Kyiv and Washington, which have soured in recent months, not least over the deal for Ukraine's minerals.

A one-on-one meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Vatican ahead of Pope Francis' funeral last weekend, appears to have eased tensions between the two leaders.

A signed agreement will provide a morale boost for Ukraine as its people face daily bombardment from Russia. The attacks have killed and wounded dozens of civilians across the country in recent weeks as negotiations for a cease-fire continue without success.

Central to the agreement is an investment fund that both Ukraine and the U.S. will contribute to and oversee: the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. The signing of the deal insures that the U.S. and its allies will take the lead in any reconstruction.

"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," Bessent said.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko was in Washington on Wednesday to complete the deal.