Ukraine, US sign minerals deal sought by Trump

By Tom Balmforth, Yuliia Dysa and Trevor Hunnicutt

KYIV/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ukraine and the U.S. on Wednesday signed a deal heavily promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump that will give the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction.

The two countries signed the accord in Washington after months of sometimes fraught negotiations, with uncertainty persisting until the last moment with word of an eleventh-hour snag.

The accord establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction as Trump tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine.

The agreement is central to Kyiv's efforts to mend ties with Trump and the White House, which frayed after he took office in January.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko were shown signing the agreement in a photo posted on X by the Treasury, which said the deal "clearly signals the Trump Administration's commitment to a free, sovereign, prosperous Ukraine."

Svyrydenko wrote on X that the accord provides for Washington to contribute to the fund.

"In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide NEW assistance -- for example air defense systems for Ukraine," she said.

Washington has been Ukraine's single largest military donor since Russia's 2022 invasion with aid of more than 64 billion euros ($72 billion), according to the Kiel Institute in Germany.

Before the signing, Trump repeated on Wednesday that the U.S. should get something for its aid to Kyiv, thus the effort to secure a deal for Ukraine's plentiful deposits of rare earth minerals.

In announcing the deal, the U.S. Treasury said the partnership recognized "the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion."

A draft of the agreement seen by Reuters earlier on Wednesday showed Ukraine secured the removal of any requirement for it to pay back the U.S. for past military assistance, something Kyiv had staunchly opposed.

Ukrainian officials hope that signing the deal will firm up American support for Kyiv in the war.

The draft did not specify any concrete U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv's initial goals.

Separately, Ukraine has discussed with European allies the forming of an international force to help ensure Ukraine's security if a peace agreement is reached with Russia.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Yulia Dysa in Kyiv; Steve Holland, Doina Chiacu and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; writing by Anastasiia Malenko and Cynthia Osterman; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Timothy Heritage, Alistair Bell, David Gregorio and Diane Craft)