4 things you didn't know about Ukraine-US mineral deal

First Post

01-05-2025

While headlines have focused on the deal's access to Ukraine's rare earth elements, several lesser-known aspects reveal deeper layers of this partnership. Here are four key points you might have missed read more
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and President Donald Trump, talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
The recently signed minerals agreement between Ukraine and the United States, which was months in the making, has garnered a fair bit of attention. The agreement establishes an investment fund that Ukraine hopes will secure US support as the nation continues its fight against Russia three years after the war began.
However, beyond the public declarations of strategic partnership and post-war recovery, the deal contains several lesser-known provisions.
Here are four important but overlooked aspects of the agreement:
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1. Zelenskyy won't pay back anything to Trump
Despite initial suggestions from some quarters in Washington that Ukraine could repay part of its wartime aid through mineral revenues, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly opposed the idea. He reportedly insisted that any suggestion of repayment would amount to turning the cost of survival into a debt burden for future generations.
The final agreement, as confirmed by Kyiv and Washington officials, contains no clause requiring repayment of military or economic assistance provided during the war.
This may frustrate some in the Trump administration who have called for more transactional foreign policy, but it allows Ukraine to protect its economic sovereignty.
2. It's not only about rare earth minerals
Much of the attention surrounding the deal has focused on Ukraine's rare earth deposits, which are crucial for high-tech manufacturing and military hardware. However, the agreement covers a far broader range of critical minerals.
Ukraine's reserves include large deposits of lithium, graphite, titanium and uranium. These materials are vital to a range of industries including electric vehicles, aerospace, nuclear energy and semiconductors. For the United States, gaining early access to these resources offers a strategic advantage in reducing dependency on China. For Ukraine, it signals a path toward becoming a key supplier in global clean energy and defence supply chains.
3. Trump won't object to Ukraine's EU membership
One of the more politically charged questions leading up to the deal was whether closer US-Ukraine economic ties would come with conditions that could complicate Ukraine's bid to join the European Union. So far, that concern appears unfounded.
Officials involved in the negotiations say the US made no demands that would contradict Ukraine's EU aspirations. In fact, the mineral deal is being described by some analysts as complementary to Ukraine's European ambitions, as it helps modernise the country's industrial base and attract further Western investment. Despite Donald Trump's well-known scepticism of transatlantic alliances, sources say he has raised no objections to Ukraine's EU bid in the context of this deal.
4. The US will invest all its profits in Ukraine for the first 10 years
In an unexpected move, the agreement includes a clause committing the United States to reinvest all profits from the mineral partnership back into Ukraine for the first decade. This reinvestment will go toward rebuilding critical infrastructure, modernising mining operations and supporting economic development in war-affected regions.
White House officials have framed this as both a strategic and moral commitment, signalling that US interests in Ukraine are not just extractive but developmental. For Ukraine, it means immediate and tangible benefits from the deal, rather than waiting years for investment returns to materialise.
With inputs from agencies