Ukraine agrees minerals deal with US
www.ft.com
Kyiv hopes agreement on jointly exploring resources will improve relations with Trump administration

The final version of the agreement, dated February 24 and seen by the FT, would establish a fund into which Ukraine would contribute 50 per cent of proceeds from the “future monetisation” of state-owned mineral resources, including oil and gas, and associated logistics. The fund would invest in projects in Ukraine.

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However, the agreement omits any reference to US security guarantees which Kyiv had originally insisted on in return for agreeing to the deal. It also leaves crucial questions such as the size of the US stake in the fund and the terms of “joint ownership” deals to be hashed out in follow-up agreements.

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Ukrainian officials added that the deal was just a “framework agreement” and that no revenues would change hands until the fund was in place, allowing them time to iron out any potential disagreements. Among the outstanding issues is to agree the jurisdiction of the agreement.

Mirror: https://archive.is/2025.02.25-183836/https://www.ft.com/content/1890d104-1395-4393-a71d-d299aed448e6

  • golli@lemm.eeEnglish
    32·
    18 hours ago

    This seems like a terrible deal for Ukraine. No guarantees and only obligations, not that you could trust anything Trump promises anyways.

    But if it comes to it, then it is also a huge blunder by the EU imo. At this point it seems pretty clear to me that if Ukraine wants to achieve security and prosperity in the longterm, then it’ll only happen through integration with the EU. In that process Europe will have to bear most of the load, which however could also be a great opportunity. Allowing the US to swoop in like that and secure profits will make everything to come much harder.

    Imo the EU would have plenty to offer aswell or could even strongarm Ukraine into choosing their offer (although this would be way less preferable), if it were to actually act according to its size. Anything from finally ramping up military orders by an order of magnitude and building capacities that can actually make use of the economies of scale, finally releasing frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, or even extending air defenses over part of Ukraine to lessen their burden.