Volodymyr Zelensky ‘says yes to rare minerals deal with Donald Trump’ – after Ukrainian president ‘refused to sign $500bn agreement’

Ukraine has agreed the terms of a minerals deal with the US in a significant step towards a peace settlement just days after rejecting the plans.

Three senior Kyiv officials have said the war-torn country is now ready to sign an agreement with Washington on jointly developing its critical resources.

‘Now government officials are working on the details’, one of the officials said. ‘As of now, we are considering a visit to Washington for Friday to sign the agreement.’

The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

One of them said that Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of US military support that Ukraine urgently needs.

President Donald Trump confirmed Zelensky’s planned visit to reporters at the White House on Tuesday. 

‘I hear that he’s coming on Friday, certainly it’s okay with me if he’d like to,’ Trump said. 

Trump again voiced his support for the rare minerals deal, noting that Ukraine needed to repay the United States for the billions it received in military aid. 

‘Without the United States and its money and its military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short period of time,’ Trump said. 

News of a deal comes after the US dropped controversial demands for a right to up to $500bn in potential revenue from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

President Zelensky refused to sign this initial proposal last week – sparking a war of words between him and Donald Trump.

The US president called Zelensky a ‘dictator’ and appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war that entered its fourth year yesterday. However, it is now believed an improved offer has been agreed between the two countries.

Under the new terms a fund would be created into which Ukraine would contribute 50 per cent of proceeds from the ‘future monetisation’ of state-owned mineral resources.

This would include oil and gas, and associated logistics. 

It would exclude, however, resources that already contribute to the Ukrainian government’s finances. 

There is also reportedly no reference to a guarantee of US security for Ukraine in the agreement, which Kyiv previously said was necessary for them to agree any deal. 

Ukrainian officials said that the proposal had already been given the go-ahead by the country’s justice, economy and foreign ministers. 

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, who has led the negotiations said: ‘The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. 

‘We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture.’

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the administration of the US President. 

The agreement of a minerals deal with Ukraine has been one of President Trump’s key demands in any peace settlement to end the war. 

It is hoped any such agreement would pave the way for a long-term US security commitment for Ukraine. 

Ukrainian officials have maintained, however, that the deal is a ‘framework agreement’ and that no revenue will change hands until the fund is set up. 

A dozen leaders from Europe and Canada gathered in Ukraine’s capital yesterday to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. 

President Trump, however, was notably absent as he met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington. 

A Ukrainian agreement to an ‘economic commitment’ with the US was first floated by Zelensky himself as part of his ‘Victory Plan’ unveiled to western allies in October. 

At that time, the Ukrainian President said Ukraine could sign an agreement with the US, EU and other unnamed allies that would allow for joint investments and use of Ukraine’s natural resources.

But according to a private draft of a US proposal seen by The Telegraph, the contract offered earlier this month would have seen the US take 50 per cent of revenues received by Ukraine from the extraction of natural resources.

It would have also granted the US 50 per cent of the financial value of ‘all new licenses issued to third parties’ for the future monetisation of these resources.

Such a deal would’ve been extremely difficult for Kyiv to stomach even if it had come with concrete and detailed promises of long-term security guarantees to be provided by Washington.

Furthermore it appeared Trump expected to receive ‘$500 billion’ worth of Ukrainian natural resources as repayment for military, financial and humanitarian aid provided to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

This figure appears to have been plucked from the ether, as the US’ own congressional reporting service shows the sum total of US aid for Ukraine thus far totals $174.2 billion.

Zelensky later claimed that only around $75 billion of this was military aid.

In the days after the Ukrainian president refused to sign the unfavourable deal, his relationship with Trump took a nosedive. 

Last week, Trump labelled his Ukrainian counterpart ‘a dictator without elections’ as part of a shocking rant posted on his Truth Social platform.

That accusation came just hours after Zelensky said the leader of the free world had fallen prey to a Russian disinformation campaign when Trump erroneously declared his Ukrainian counterpart was ‘down at four per cent approval rating’.

‘Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the US and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle,’ Trump wrote.

‘I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…’ he posted, going onto make a series of claims that have since been proven completely untrue.