The United States and Ukraine agreed to a deal that creates an investment fund to search for minerals in Ukraine, and set out how revenues would be split between the countries. Zelensky proposed the deal last year, hoping to improve relations with Trump.
The deal aims to give Trump a personal stake in Ukraine’s fate and to address his concerns that the U.S. has provided Ukraine with a blank check to fight Russia.
The U.S. did not immediately provide details about the agreement, and it was not clear what it meant for the future of American military support for Ukraine.
Despite the fanfare, the deal will have little significance if fighting between Ukraine and Russia persists.
A former official said the agreement would serve the important purpose of building good will with Mr. Trump, and giving him an economic interest in the country’s survival and stability.
Earlier drafts had swiveled between what critics called a brazen extortion of Ukraine by the Trump administration and versions that included points sought by Ukraine, such as references to U.S. support for postwar security guarantees. Without them, Ukraine says, Russia could quickly violate any cease-fire or restart the war after regrouping and rearming.
Mr. Zelensky has made clear that the minerals agreement is not an end in itself. Wrapping up the deal is aimed at clearing the way to more consequential talks on U.S. military backing and on the terms of a possible cease-fire with Russia, he said.
“We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively,” Mr. Zelensky said in March in a post on X.
Ukrainian authorities say the country holds deposits of more than 20 critical minerals; one consulting firm valued them as being worth several trillion dollars. But they may not be easy to extract, and the Soviet-era maps outlining where the critical deposits are have never been modernized nor have they all been thoroughly vetted.
Ukraine now earns about $1 billion a year in natural resources royalties, far below the hundreds of billions of dollars Mr. Trump said he expected the United States to gain from the agreement.