Ukraine and the United States have signed a memorandum indicating their intention to finalize and conclude a subsoil agreement.
This was reported by the Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
"We are preparing to create an Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. The corresponding agreement will open up opportunities for significant investments, infrastructure modernization, and mutually beneficial partnership between Ukraine and the United States — it is with this goal that the teams are working on the document," she emphasized.
Svyrydenko added that what lies ahead is the finalization of the text of the agreement and its signing. And then ratification by parliaments.
What is known about the US-Ukraine subsoil 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 Kyiv, it believes that this could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, divert profits abroad and deepen the country’s dependence on the United States. However, Kyiv 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.
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