U.S. and Ukrainian officials have signed a long-anticipated deal that gives the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for a promised security guarantee to protect Kyiv from future Russian aggression, signaling President Donald Trump’s commitment to ending the war.

The deal was signed Wednesday afternoon on Trump's 100th day in office by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, as the latter visited Washington, D.C., to finalize the details. The Treasury Department confirmed the signed deal, called the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.

“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term. President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides' commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine,” Bessent said in a statement. "And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine."

The minerals deal grants the U.S. access to Ukraine’s natural resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil, and natural gas, according to Bloomberg. It also lays out details about the economic partnership between the U.S. and Ukraine.

The finalized deal comes hours after Bessent said the U.S. was ready to sign the agreement as soon as “this afternoon” if Ukraine reconsidered making “some last-minute changes.” Without elaborating on what Ukraine wanted changed in the deal, Bessent told reporters there were “no changes on our side.”

Bessent's comments sparked doubt about the deal’s fate, which has been left uncertain for months.

Disputing Bessent’s characterization of the situation, a source in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office told ABC News that the U.S. wanted to simultaneously sign the minerals deal and an agreement involving the creation of a joint investment fund. Ukraine wanted to sign the two documents separately because the joint investment fund had not yet been finalized.

An established investment fund would create a 50-50 partnership between Ukraine and the U.S. and would assist the embattled nation’s reconstruction and development efforts following its war with Russia, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Trump and Zelensky were going to sign the minerals deal in late February, but that plan was scrapped after an intense exchange between the two broke out in the Oval Office. The two met again on seemingly amicable terms at Pope Francis’s funeral last weekend, two months after their viral argument set back peace talks for the Russia-Ukraine war.

While Trump was initially frustrated with Zelensky, the Republican’s ire has recently been directed toward Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow launched a deadly airstrike on Kyiv last week. The attack left at least twelve people dead and dozens more wounded. In recent days, Trump has been calling for Putin to stop the bloodshed and sign a peace deal.

"There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days," the president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday. "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?' Too many people are dying!!!"

Russia has been dismissing the Trump administration’s attempts at securing peace. Putin recently rejected Ukraine’s proposal for an unconditional 30-day cease-fire. The Trump administration had previously proposed a 30-day cease-fire on Russian attacks targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, but the attacks still continued in spite of the agreement.

Earlier this week, Putin declared a cessation in fighting from May 8 to May 10 in remembrance of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany at the end of World War II. The Kremlin announced the three-day, unilateral cease-fire after Putin declared a similar truce over Easter weekend, but the agreement didn’t hold after both Ukraine and Russia accused each other of violating the temporary cease-fire in a few thousand instances.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed on Monday that Trump’s frustration applies to both Putin and Zelensky, as the war rages on. Trump campaigned on ending the conflict, once saying he could do so within 24 hours.

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U.S., Ukraine Sign Minerals Deal in Major Breakthrough for Peace Talks

Trump and Zelensky were going to sign the minerals deal in late February, but that plan was scrapped after an ... READ MORE

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