The U.S.-Ukraine Mineral Deal: What We Know

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The announcement that the deal had been signed came after months of fraught negotiations.

Construction equipment on a hill of dirt.

May 1, 2025, 6:48 a.m. ET

Ukraine signed a deal giving the United States control over a share of its future revenue from natural resources, a long-awaited agreement that Kyiv hopes will clear the way for continued U.S. support and a cease-fire with Russia.

The announcement late Wednesday that the deal had been signed came after months of fraught negotiations — including an explosive Oval Office confrontation — as the Trump administration tries to broker an end to Ukraine’s three-year war with Russia.

The agreement, which involves creating a joint investment fund between the countries, is intended to give President Trump a personal stake in the country’s fate while addressing his concerns that the United States has provided Kyiv with a blank check to try to withstand Russia’s invasion. It could also clear the way for more consequential talks on U.S. military backing for Ukraine and on the terms of a possible cease-fire with Russia.

What happened in the Oval Office

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President Trump during his meeting in the Oval Office with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

The deal was initially meant to be signed when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited Washington in February. But a signing ceremony was abruptly canceled after Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance castigated the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office for what they said was not being grateful enough for U.S. support and sought to press him into making a peace deal.