By Jane Lytvynenko

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine and the U.S. are expected to sign a deal for access to Ukrainian mineral wealth in the next 24 hours, according to Kyiv officials, after the Trump administration appeared to have dropped its insistence that the agreement allow Washington to recoup billions of dollars of past military aid.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is en route to Washington, D.C., to complete the deal in person, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a televised interview.

Central to the agreement is an investment fund that both Ukraine and the U.S. will contribute to and oversee equally.

President Trump had portrayed the deal as a way for the U.S. to recoup tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine -- but, in what appears to be a major concession to Ukraine, the latest draft doesn't require Kyiv to repay past military aid, which was a red line for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The U.S. will, however, be able to count new military aid as a contribution to the fund.

The completion of the minerals deal would mark a high point for relations between Kyiv and Washington which have soured in recent months, not least over the deal for Ukraine's minerals.

A one-to-one meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the Vatican over the weekend ahead of Pope Francis' funeral appears to have eased tensions between the two leaders, with both describing the encounter as productive.

An agreement would also provide a morale boost for Ukraine as its people face daily bombardment from Russia, which has killed and wounded dozens of civilians across the country in recent weeks as negotiations for a cease-fire continue without success.

The deal is also envisaged by the White House as a kind of security guarantee for Ukraine in the event a cease-fire is reached with Russia. Trump officials argue that U.S. business presence in Ukraine would deter Moscow from attacking the country again.

The two teams were still working to iron out final technical details in the translation of the minerals document, Shmyhal said. He traveled to Washington last week for negotiations around the deal.

"This is a good achievement," Shmyhal said. "We understand how we will use this instrument in the future in working with our partner, with the United States of America."

The fund will invest into Ukraine for a period of 10 years, focusing on rebuilding Ukraine and renewing the country's economy. Ukraine will retain control over its minerals, paying into the fund with new licenses it issues. The deal will also be tax and tariff-free for both countries, Shmyhal said.

Once the deal is signed by Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, it would need to be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament, Shmyhal said.

The latest draft follows months of tense negotiations as Ukraine and the U.S. worked to find middle ground.

Zelensky initially proposed a mineral deal in the summer of 2024, before Trump's election, in a bid to woo Republican support. Ukraine has reserves of lithium, titanium and other rare-earth metals essential for everything from cellphones to the defense industry.

Kyiv saw the initial agreement presented by Bessent during a trip to Ukraine as a starting point for negotiations, while Washington hoped for the document to be signed on the spot.

Zelensky's refusal to sign a deal his administration only had a few hours to study sparked a war of words between the two leaders, culminating in the White House blow-up between the Ukrainian president, Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

A critical disagreement was whether Ukraine was responsible for repaying costs of past assistance provided under the Biden administration. Trump, putting the cost of the aid at $350 billion, said Ukraine must pay. Zelensky, who put the price tag at $100 billion, said it was a red line because the military assistance came in the form of grants.

Yet even as diplomatic relations between Kyiv and Washington crumbled, hope for reviving the deal endured.

When the Trump administration sent another, different, proposal in late March, it spelled out sweeping demands Ukraine couldn't accept. That version of the agreement put repayment of debt back on the table and asked for broad control over the country's economy, conflicting with Ukraine's obligations to the European Union, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Rather than balk at the March proposal, Ukrainians continued negotiating. Weeks later, a memorandum of understanding was signed virtually by Bessent and Svyrydenko, who had been instrumental in the negotiations.

The memorandum spelled out a path toward a more-comprehensive agreement that would establish a fund for the reconstruction and economic investment of Ukraine.

The latest draft explicitly respects Ukraine's international obligations, Shmyhal said.

Last week, Trump scolded Zelensky for not having signed the expanded mineral agreement in a post on Truth Social.

"Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote on Friday.

His tone appeared to have softened by the time of an interview with ABC News, in which he was asked about meeting Zelensky in the Vatican.

"The moment was a moment of solace, in a sense," said Trump. "Because tremendous amounts of people are dying, a lot of people are dying and being killed."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2025 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)

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