The United States and Ukraine agree to create a joint investment fund for natural resources

The negotiations were tough, long, and often unfriendly on the American side. They nevertheless reached a positive conclusion on Wednesday, April 30. The United States and Ukraine announced the signing of an agreement on the exploitation of natural resources in the country, devastated by war since the Russian invasion in 2022. The two parties will establish an investment and reconstruction fund, with equal participation, which will oversee projects to exploit minerals contained in Ukrainian soil, as well as oil and gas.

The original idea of ​​US involvement in these projects was put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September 2024. However, upon his arrival at the White House, Donald Trump framed the issue as a form of payment for the US military and financial aid committed since the beginning of the war. He arbitrarily estimated this aid at $350 billion, when the actual amount is about three times less.

The American president therefore wanted a form of gigantic reparations, without offering what Ukraine considered essential: security guarantees to protect it from possible future Russian attacks. Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the Oval Office at the end of February was a diplomatic disaster, postponing the signing of the minerals agreement. Its first draft was extremely unfavorable to kyiv and resembled extortion, which Washington wanted to sign immediately.

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