Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the US had proposed a new critical minerals deal to Kyiv that goes well beyond an initial framework accord hammered out last month, as part of Donald Trump’s efforts to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy told reporters he had not yet reviewed the proposal in full, but said it does not include increased US involvement in Ukraine’s nuclear power sector, which Trump suggested last week.
The Ukrainian president described the latest US proposal as a “large, comprehensive agreement”.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that the Trump administration was seeking new terms for US access to critical minerals and energy assets in Ukraine, and was considering expanding its economic demands on Kyiv to potentially include ownership of its nuclear power facilities.
The US president has sought a minerals deal to recoup billions of dollars’ worth of military assistance provided to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Washington has now proposed a minerals agreement that would bypass the earlier framework stage and go directly to thrashing out details about who owns and controls a joint investment fund.
Zelenskyy said: “Previously, we had a framework agreement, followed by the development of a full agreement. Now, the American side has proposed a grand agreement right away.”
The US refused to sign the initial critical minerals accord after a disastrous bust-up in the White House involving Trump, vice-president JD Vance and Zelenskyy. Washington briefly responded by halting US military assistance and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
The original critical minerals deal, hammered out over two weeks in February, was meant to pave the way for further discussions about US security guarantees for Ukraine once the war with Russia had ended.
The White House has argued that security guarantees are inherent in any critical minerals deal, because American economic investment in Ukraine would deter Russia from attacking again.
Kyiv has not fully accepted the argument and demanded further assurances from the US, which it has so far not received.
While many details of the minerals deal proposed by the US are unclear, with Ukrainian officials poring over the multi-page document, they were relieved that it did not call for the handover of nuclear power plants to the US.
But officials worry that their efforts to secure a version of the Trump administration’s original accord may now be lost, and superseded by a proposal involving greater economic demands.
One Ukrainian official familiar with the matter said Washington had brought up the nuclear issue in discussions but did not include it in the new proposal.
They did not exclude it from being a part of future talks related to Trump’s push to end Russian aggression in Ukraine.
There was confusion last week following a call between Trump and Zelenskyy after the US president said he had discussed potentially taking over control of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.
Zelenskyy said the two leaders only discussed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine, which is currently under the control of Russian forces.
