Ukraine has reached a preliminary agreement to allocate revenue from certain mineral resources to the United States, ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s expected visit to Washington on Friday.
The deal is part of Ukraine’s efforts to secure strong backing from U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks a swift resolution to the war with Russia.
Zelenskiy emphasized that the agreement does not involve a financial debt. “The main thing for me is we are not debtors. There is no $500 billion debt in the agreement, nor $350, nor $100 billion because that would be unfair,” he said at a news briefing.
Trump has described the deal as a repayment for U.S. aid to Kyiv throughout the war, though Ukraine has sought security guarantees in exchange for the mineral rights. It remains unclear whether those demands have been met.
Zelenskiy said the agreement forms part of broader negotiations with the United States. “This agreement is part of our larger agreements with the United States. This agreement could be part of future security guarantees… an agreement is an agreement, but we need to understand the broader vision,” he said.
“This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump.”
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said Washington has committed to supporting Ukraine’s efforts to secure guarantees under the final deal, but no explicit security pledges have been made. While discussions continue on the minerals agreement, the U.S. and Russia have begun bilateral talks on resolving disputes related to the war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday’s talks in Istanbul would focus on key issues the two sides consider crucial to ending the conflict.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Zelenskiy was planning to visit Washington to finalize a “very big deal.” Shmyhal said Ukraine’s government would authorize the agreed wording of the deal on Wednesday, allowing it to be signed.
“After the Ukrainian president and the U.S. president agree on security guarantees, agree on how we tie this preliminary agreement to security guarantees from the United States for our country, in the presence of (both) presidents, a representative of the Ukrainian government will sign this preliminary agreement,” he said.
A draft agreement dated February 25 states, “The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.”
Shmyhal said Ukraine would contribute 50% of all proceeds from the future monetization of state-owned natural resource assets and relevant infrastructure. These funds would be placed in a joint U.S.-Ukraine controlled fund, with governance decisions requiring Kyiv’s approval.
Existing deposits, facilities, licenses, and rents are excluded from the agreement, Shmyhal said, ensuring the fund applies only to future monetization efforts.
