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OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:56 PM – Friday, May 2, 2025
With the new mineral rights deal between Washington, D.C., and Kyiv, President Donald Trump fulfilled his pledge to hold Ukraine financially accountable for the billions of dollars that has already been provided in military assistance.
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This now opens a new avenue for the U.S. to provide weaponry to the country without using any taxpayer funds.
Following months of discussions, the deal was signed on Wednesday. It established a common investment fund to which both countries will contribute, including through the sale of mineral rights, oil, and gas licenses in Ukraine — with a 50/50 profit split.
The agreement states that rather than contributing more money to the fund, the United States retains the right to receive credit toward its overall contribution — equal to the price of any military hardware, technology, or training, the New York Post reported.
“If, after the effective date, the Government of the United States of America delivers new military assistance to the Government of Ukraine in any form — including the donation of weapons systems, ammunition, technology or training — the capital contribution of the U.S. Partner will be deemed to be increased by the assessed value of such military assistance,” the mineral deal states.
Additionally, the pact does not oblige the U.S. to sell any military aid to Kyiv, nor does it prohibit the U.S. from sending the remaining military aid authorized by Congress under former President Joe Biden, which is anticipated to expire next month.
Following the conclusion of those negotiations, a second document containing “all the formal details about the operation and how it would go” will be sent to the Verkhovna Rada parliament of Ukraine for ratification.
Hanna Shelest, a senior fellow at the Kyiv-based Center for European Policy Analysis, estimated that the process could take around a month.
“What I heard from a few diplomats in Ukraine is that the US wanted us to sign it immediately,” Shelest said. “So I understand that a draft is available, but [the] Ukrainian side said that we cannot sign it without ratification.”
Given Russia’s ongoing drone, bomb, and missile attacks on Ukraine, Ukrainians hope the deal will overturn Trump’s rejection to supply vital air defense hardware. However, the 47th U.S. president has also cautioned that Ukraine should not expect to join NATO or reclaim the territories now-occupied by Russia.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he asked Trump if Ukraine could spend $15 billion on up to ten Patriot missile systems, which are only produced by the United States, but the president rejected his request.
According to some Ukrainian analysts, Trump’s “art of the deal” refusal indicates comprehension of the Trump administration’s transactional strategy.
“The Ukrainians’ mistake was thinking that Trump wanted this so badly that they could leverage it,” one source familiar with Kyiv’s strategy told the American press, emphasizing that the deal was put on the “back burner” following the two leaders’ previous Oval Office shouting match.
Ukraine’s authorities need to support Trump’s strategy, which he said was “immune to emotional appeals,” according to Lt. Denis Yaroslasvky, commander of a special reconnaissance unit for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“Only pragmatic economic proposals matter,” Yaroslavsky said. “… Today, Ukraine has a small but real chance to leverage this approach to achieve a swift cease-fire.
“The is the first step, hopefully it will entail a merger in the great alliance of our countries.”
Additionally, some analysts have observed that, although the U.S. is under no obligation to sell weapons to Ukraine, the provision serves as a strategic subliminal signal to Russia—underscoring that the Trump administration retains the prerogative to further arm Ukraine as a deterrent measure.
Nevertheless, the Kremlin appeared to acknowledge the deal’s significance on Thursday, as Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev sharply criticized Trump, delivering a sarcastic rebuke that lauded the U.S. president for striking an agreement with a country he claimed would soon “disappear.”
“Trump has finally pressured the Kyiv regime to pay for US aid with mineral resources,” he posted to Telegram. “Now, the country that is about to disappear will have to use its national wealth to pay for military supplies.”
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