The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has published the text of a memorandum that confirms the intention to finalize a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States. It was signed the day before by the Ukrainian and American delegations.
This memorandum confirms the intention to finalize and conclude a mineral agreement that will be beneficial to Ukrainians and Americans. Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will establish a Fund for Investment in the Reconstruction of Ukraine.
The memorandum stated that the agreement will open up opportunities for significant investment, infrastructure modernization, and a mutually beneficial partnership between Ukraine and the United States. In addition, it reaffirms the Americansʼ desire to invest together with Ukrainians in a free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine.
Also, according to the text of the memorandum, the United States and Ukraine recognize the contribution that Ukraine has made to strengthening international peace and security by voluntarily giving up the worldʼs third-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons.
In addition, the document stipulates that the United States respects Ukraineʼs obligations related to joining the European Union or to agreements with international financial institutions and other official creditors. That is, the mineral agreement cannot cause conflicts for Ukraineʼs European integration path.
Full text of the memorandum in English.
The document states that Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will visit Washington next week, after April 21, and meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant to complete technical discussions on the terms of the agreement to create a reconstruction investment fund.
The negotiating teams are expected to report on progress made by April 26, 2025, with a view to completing the discussions by that date and signing the agreement as soon as possible.
What kind of memorandum?
The concluded memorandum is not yet a mineral agreement between the US and Ukraine. It is a document that confirms the intention to complete it and conclude it. What lies ahead is the finalization of the text of the mineral agreement and its signing, and then ratification by parliaments.
In February 2025, the United States announced its intention to conclude an agreement with Ukraine on its minerals. On February 12, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought a pilot draft of the minerals agreement to Ukraine. Washington hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. However, President Zelensky said that he had banned signing 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 revised 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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