UKRAINE AND THE United States on Thursday signed a “memorandum of intent” to move forward with a fraught deal for US access to Kyiv’s natural resources and critical minerals, Kyiv said.

“We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on X.

The deal will give the US preferential access to Ukraine’s natural resources and minerals, and royalty payments on profits from Ukrainian mining of resources and rare minerals.

US President Donald Trump has been eyeing the deal as compensation for foreign aid supplied to the nation by his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said Ukraine was prepared to sign the minerals-sharing deal with the US, but has stressed that the agreement must be matched with security guarantees.

The Ukrainian President was due to sign the agreement at the White House weeks ago, but left early following an unprecedented public row with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in Washington D.C.

Svyrydenko did not publish details of the memorandum, but said work continued towards securing a final agreement.

“We hope that the Fund will become an effective tool for attracting investments in the reconstruction of our country, modernization of infrastructure, support for business, and the creation of new economic opportunities,” she said.

“There is a lot to do, but the current pace and significant progress give reason to expect that the document will be very beneficial for both countries.”

US officials say boosting American business interests in Ukraine will help deter Russia from future aggression in the event of a ceasefire.

Kyiv is pushing for concrete military and security guarantees as part of any deal to halt the three-year war.

Includes reporting by AFP