Ukraine And US Sign Minerals Deal

After months of negotiations, the Donald Trump-led US administration has signed a crucial natural resources deal with Ukraine. The agreement gives the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals in exchange for establishing an investment fund. The US Treasury Department said that agreement established the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.

"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," US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. Kyiv views this agreement as crucial for restoring positive relations with the White House. The United States stands as Ukraine's top military donor in the period following Russia's invasion in 2022.

The fund will be governed jointly and will have three US members and three Ukrainian members on its board, reported Axios. The fund's capital will be directed towards investments in extracting Ukraine's rare earth minerals and oil and gas resources, with generated revenue divided equally. Ukraine reportedly possesses reserves of 22 of the 50 materials deemed critical by the US Geological Survey. Among these are rare earth minerals and additional materials essential for the creation of electronics, clean energy technologies, and certain weapon systems. According to CNN, China has maintained a long-standing control over the global output of rare earth minerals and other strategically vital materials.