Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to investigate after details of a new draft agreement between the United States and Ukraine on minerals were leaked. Employees of a number of ministries were given polygraph tests.
This is reported by the Financial Times (FT), citing sources.
According to journalists, the investigation began after MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak published part of the draft agreement on March 27, claiming to have received it from his own sources. He emphasizes that this is not the final document and the text will most likely be edited. That is, this is the wish of the American side as of March 23, 2025.
Zheleznyak writes that in the new version of the agreement, the Americans propose that the majority in the management of the fund be representatives of the United States (3 out of 5 members with full veto power). The agreement applies to all of Ukraineʼs minerals — both new and already in use. All new investment projects are initially offered to the American side. At the same time, there is nothing about security guarantees for Ukraine.
During a briefing with journalists on March 28, President Zelensky wondered how "deputies already know everything":
"Itʼs interesting to me: I havenʼt read it yet, but the deputies already know everything that will be in the agreement. Itʼs strange. I wonder who is giving them this information. This is very interesting. I would like to know for myself," the president noted.
The Financial Times writes that employees of several ministries have already passed the lie detector test, but they did not specify how many people have already been tested. And unnamed Ukrainian officials said that they were unpleasantly surprised by the scale of the latest US demands and consider some of Washingtonʼs proposals politically unacceptable, as they would complicate Ukraineʼs European integration.
The Security Service of Ukraine responded to journalistsʼ inquiries that it acts within the law, protecting the security of Ukraine, and keeps some details of its activities secret.
Minerals Agreement
The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought a pilot draft of a minerals agreement to Ukraine on February 12. Washington hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. However, President Zelensky said that he had banned the signing of the agreement because it would not be able to protect Ukraine’s interests — there is no connection to investments, profits, and security guarantees. After that, it began to be finalized.
The final agreement was supposed to be signed on February 28, during Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs visit to the White House. However, then Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president had a falling out — the Ukrainian delegation left the White House early. The document was not signed. However, both sides stated that negotiations on the agreement were ongoing.
The United States is now proposing a new deal on Ukrainian minerals, as well as oil and gas, without offering security guarantees in return. The Financial Times, which has seen the draft agreement, writes that Washington is aggressively expanding its demands. In Kiev, it believes that this could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, divert profits abroad and deepen the country’s dependence on the United States. However, Kiev will ask to change the agreement, demanding in return increased American investment. The US President Donald Trump has already threatened Zelensky with “big problems” if he abandons the subsoil deal.
In the near future, the Ukrainian delegation will travel to Washington for another round of negotiations on the minerals agreement, and will also separately engage a law firm to accompany the negotiation process.
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