Ukrainian parliament has approved the recently signed minerals deal with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, seen by some as controversial.
The agreement was backed by a sizable majority of lawmakers after adding certain caveats concerning important additional deals that are yet to be sealed by the two sides.
Ukraine’s legislature greenlights reconstruction and minerals deal with U.S.
Members of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, gave the nod to the so-called “minerals deal” with Washington that will allow the United States to exploit the Eastern European nation’s natural resources and recover billions of dollars’ worth of war-time aid.
In a vote on Thursday, the ratification of the economic partnership agreement with the U.S. was backed by 338 out of 450 Ukrainian deputies, the UNIAN news agency reported. The approval came after a heated debate during which the move was criticized by the opposition.
The decision paves the way for the establishment of a Reconstruction Investment Fund in the war-ravaged Ukraine that will be filled equally and managed by both governments. The money should come from mining and energy revenues as well as foreign investments.
The ratification creates legal grounds for the implementation of the bilateral agreement signed on April 30. The deal was struck after prolonged negotiations and a failed first attempt after a clash between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart at the White House at the end of February.
I am grateful to everyone on our team who worked on the Economic Partnership Agreement with the United States, and to everyone who supported it. I thank all 338 Members of Parliament who voted in favour of the agreement. I expect the ratification law to be submitted from the…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 8, 2025
In April, opposition pressure increased on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to inform lawmakers about progress in the negotiations on the minerals deal with the U.S. and the process for peace with Russia, the latter being another of Trump’s priorities.
The government in Kyiv announced it has submitted the agreement for ratification on May 1, shortly after its signing by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
Agreement covers all Ukrainian territories, including lands occupied by Russia
The deal grants the U.S. preferential access to Ukraine’s natural resources, not just the rare-earth metals as initially discussed. Half of the proceeds from all new projects extracting Ukrainian minerals will go into the joint investment fund.
Yulia Svyrydenko emphasized in a statement that the agreement reflects Ukraine’s constitutional principles and elaborated:
“Ownership and control over the subsoil remains with Ukraine, all resources on our entire land and territorial waters belong to Ukraine, national property is protected.”
She added that Ukraine will submit investment projects which will allow it to fulfil its economic priorities. The Kyiv official also highlighted that the agreement takes into account Ukraine’s course toward joining the European Union and its obligations in that regard.
Svyrydenko insisted that shares in the Reconstruction Investment Fund will be divided equally between Ukraine and the United States and that a clear mechanism will be implemented for distributing the generated income.
The Ukrainian Parliament has ratified the historic Economic Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the United States.
This document is not merely a legal construct — it is the foundation of a new model of interaction with a key strategic partner. pic.twitter.com/pIkMG1gUVu
— Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) May 8, 2025
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Kachka pointed out that the minerals deal does not split Ukrainian land into occupied and unoccupied territories, noting that the two sides have not yet discussed where the fund will operate.
Two additional “technical deals,” mentioned throughout the main agreement, remain to be signed in order to determine who is going to manage the investment fund and decide how and when to spend its proceeds, Politico noted in a report.
Ukrainian lawmakers have complained that the executive power refused to reveal these agreements, to which the government responded through a spokesperson explaining that the deals are not ready yet. Eventually, the Rada clarified in its bill that the ratification of the main document translates into automatic approval for future technical deals.
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