Ukraine Secures Landmark Minerals Deal with U.S. Amid Ongoing Escalation in War

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has unveiled major details of a landmark minerals agreement signed with the United States on Wednesday. The deal, which followed months of challenging negotiations, marks a significant step in Ukraine’s economic recovery and long-term international partnerships.

Speaking from Washington, where she co-signed the agreement with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Svyrydenko said the pact would have far-reaching benefits for Ukraine. “It is important that the agreement will become a signal to other global players that it is reliable to cooperate with Ukraine in the long term – for decades,” she stated.

The agreement establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction and grants Washington preferential access to future Ukrainian resource ventures, according to a draft of the deal.

The announcement came just hours after a deadly night of drone strikes across Ukraine and Russian-occupied territories. In Odesa, Russian drone attacks killed two people and injured 15 others, according to emergency services. Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were hit in the Black Sea port city, which has faced repeated assaults since the war began.

On the other side of the front line, Russian-installed authorities in the occupied region of Kherson reported seven fatalities in a Ukrainian strike on the town of Oleshky. The nature of the casualties remains disputed, with Moscow claiming civilian deaths, while Ukraine says the target was military personnel.

Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, warned that Russian forces have ramped up their offensives in eastern Ukraine, even as President Vladimir Putin makes public calls for a ceasefire. The contrast between Moscow’s rhetoric and battlefield activity has raised skepticism about the sincerity of a temporary truce announced for early May.

As the war continues to exact a heavy toll, the new U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal is being seen as both a strategic economic alliance and a symbolic gesture of long-term Western commitment to Ukraine’s future.

Photo: Bloomberg via getty images