Diplomatic triumph prises Trump from the Kremlin

The US-Ukraine mineral deal is the first sign that Putin may hold a weakened hand, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley

- Sam Kiley

Russia greeted a mineral deal signed between the United States and Ukraine with glee through gritted teeth.

Dmitri Medvedev, the former president, said the deal means Ukraine will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country”. It does not. It does mean that, for the first time this year, the US now sees Ukraine as a financial asset.

Switching the White House’s perception of the country – from one that brought the Russian invasion on itself, was risking World War III, and is losing the war, to one where American financial skin is in the game – has been a triumph of Ukrainian diplomacy.

Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary who first presented Kyiv with a deal that was nothing short of a mafia protection racket shakedown, said this: “This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.”

A free and sovereign Ukraine is a long way from the country that Donald Trump said earlier this year might not exist in the future.

But critically, Julia Svryrydenko, the first deputy prime minister of Ukraine who signed the deal, wrote on X: “The United States will contribute to the Fund. In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide NEW assistance – for example, air defense systems for Ukraine.”