Ukraine, US Sign Minerals Deal, Tying Trump to Kyiv

Kyiv Will Not Be Asked to Pay Back 'Debt' for Billions of Dollars in Arms to Ward Off Russia

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WASHINGTON - The United States and Ukraine signed a minerals deal on April 30 after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid.

Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped.

Mr. Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth as compensation for the billions of dollars in US weapons sent under former President Joe Biden after Russia invaded the country just over three years ago.

After initial hesitation, Ukraine has accepted a minerals accord as a way to secure long-term investment by the US, as Mr. Trump tries to drastically scale back US security commitments around the world.

Announcing the signing of the deal in Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it showed "both sides' commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine."

"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," Mr. Bessent said.

"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."