The US will share future revenues from Ukraine’s mineral reserves under a deal announced by the Trump administration on Wednesday that creates a joint investment fund between the countries.

The agreement comes after months of fraught negotiations as the US tries to broker an end to Ukraine’s three-year war with Russia. It is intended to give President Trump a personal stake in the country’s fate while addressing his concerns that the US has provided Kyiv with a blank cheque to try to withstand Russia’s invasion.

“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine.”

He added: “And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

The Trump administration did not immediately provide details about the agreement, and it was not clear what it meant for the future of American military support for Ukraine. One person familiar with the negotiations, discussing them on the condition of anonymity, said the final deal does not include explicit guarantees of future US security assistance. Another said the US rejected that idea early in the process. Despite the fanfare, the deal will have little significance if fighting between Ukraine and Russia persists.

But Ukraine’s supporters hope the agreement might lead Trump to see the country as something more than a money pit and an obstacle to improved relations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The concept of giving the US a stake in Ukraine’s minerals was first proposed to Trump by Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, during a meeting at Trump Tower last September.

While the announcement made no mention of Ukraine’s minerals, a treasury department spokesman said that the deal did refer to the natural resources pact that had been the subject of negotiations.

The treasury department said that the US International Development Finance Corporation would work with Ukraine to finalise the details of the agreement.

In a post on Telegram, Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, wrote that the two countries would have equal voting rights over the fund and that Ukraine would retain full control over its subsoil, infrastructure and natural resources. It also said that profits from the investment fund would be reinvested in Ukraine.

9 killed in clashes

A Ukrainian drone attack left at least seven people dead and a Russian strike on Odesa killed two people on Thursday, officials said. The attack in the partially occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine killed seven, governor Vladimir Saldo said.

New York Times News Service