Ukraine has agreed with the U.S. on a deal to jointly develop its critical minerals, oil and gas, people familiar with the matter said, in what the White House sees as a first step toward reaching a ceasefire with Russia.
Ukraine’s Cabinet is expected to recommend on Wednesday that the deal be signed, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump has pressured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept the deal, first presented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv earlier in February, but which the Ukrainian president rejected after he said it didn’t offer security guarantees.
The minerals agreement doesn’t spell out any specific security guarantees, the people said. but U.S. officials have said that by binding Ukraine to the U.S. through economic ties, that would provided a de facto security shield. A detailed agreement is expected to be worked out later.
The deal may also offer Trump a way to encourage buy-in from his supporters for continued support for Ukraine, particularly if Washington would need Congress to approve additional aid for Ukraine if negotiations with Russia continue to drag on. Ukraine still relies on U.S. and European allies for weapons and ammunition.
Trump has said he wanted the equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths, which are mainly used in high-strength magnets. But despite reports of $10 trillion worth of mineral deposits, Ukraine has no major rare-earth reserves that are internationally recognized as economically viable.
Aside from rare earths, Ukraine does have some commercial mines of critical minerals like titanium and gallium, which while important aren’t likely to be worth the sums Trump envisages.
Even if Ukraine does have any economically viable deposits, the West still has a bigger challenge to overcome. Most countries are forced to send the rare earths they mine to be refined in China as it dominates the processing of these materials.
With assistance from Volodymyr Verbianyi.
