The government has approved the ministers who will sign the minerals agreement with the US

The mineral agreement will be signed on behalf of Ukraine by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko and Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha.

This was ordered by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in document No. 164-r.

This concerns the signing of a Bilateral Agreement on Establishing the Rules and Conditions of the Reconstruction Investment Fund.

The day before, on February 26, the government approved an agreement between Ukraine and the United States on mineral extraction. The agreement has six main provisions:

• Ukraine and the United States are creating a Reconstruction Investment Fund. This is a joint property that will be jointly managed by the governments of both countries.
• Ukrainian subsoil and resources remain Ukrainian; they are not transferred to the ownership of the United States or anyone else.
• Ukraine will contribute 50% of future revenues from its minerals to the Fund.
• The United States will contribute to the Fund in the form of funds, financial instruments, and other assets critical to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
• The funds raised by the Fund will be invested exclusively in projects to rebuild Ukraine. In fact, it is a Fund for future generations of Ukrainians.
• The agreement takes into account Ukraineʼs obligations within the framework of the European integration process. That is, it does not contradict Ukraineʼs European integration obligations.

The draft agreement was first brought to Ukraine by the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on February 12. Washington hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. President Zelensky said that he had banned signing the agreement because it would not be able to protect Ukraineʼs interests — there is no connection to investments, profits, and security guarantees.

Previously, the US President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine had "essentially agreed" to transfer half a trillion dollars worth of rare earth metals to Washington as payment for the US military aid.

Ukraine said it was ready to sign an agreement on rare earth metals, but Kyiv needed security guarantees. Zelensky added: “The document was clear in only one thing — we must give 50% of everything listed there.” After that, the agreement was sent for revision.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the framework agreement does not specify all the security guarantees that Ukraine wants. However, the text states that the United States supports “Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees necessary for sustainable peace”.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.