A Ukrainian official announced on Thursday that the US and Ukraine had signed a “memorandum of intent” to move forward with an economic deal that would give the US a piece of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and other natural resources.
“We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and economy minister, wrote on X.
The exact details of the deal are unclear, but it’s expected to give US companies access to Ukraine’s natural resources and involve them in the country’s reconstruction.
“We hope that the Fund will become an effective tool for attracting investments in the reconstruction of our country, modernization of infrastructure, support for business, and the creation of new economic opportunities,” Svyrydenko said.
President Trump said on Thursday that the US and Ukraine are expected to sign the final deal next week. He has previously suggested that the agreement would ensure the US continues providing military aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was initially set to sign a minerals deal when he visited the US on February 28, but the deal fell apart when he got into an argument with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office. Following the blow up, the US briefly paused military aid and intelligence sharing, but it was quickly resumed.
