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Washington, 21 March 2025 – The administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing for new conditions for access to Ukraine’s critical minerals and energy assets, expanding economic demands on Kyiv as part of its efforts to promote a peaceful settlement with Russia. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing sources among Ukrainian and American officials.
According to the newspaper, Washington wants Ukraine to agree to detailed provisions on ownership and control of a joint investment fund, as well as to expand the deal to potentially include American ownership of key economic assets, including Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Two Ukrainian officials noted that these demands effectively revise the previous framework agreement on minerals agreed days before the public disagreement between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump said that the US is looking to sign rare earth metals and minerals deals around the world, but that Ukraine remains a special priority. “We want to secure our investments and take advantage of what we have to offer,” he said.
Ukrainian officials have expressed concern about possible pressure from the United States to force Kyiv to accept unfavourable terms in a broader deal. These fears were heightened after Washington temporarily suspended arms sales and intelligence sharing with Ukraine in early March. During a phone call this week, Trump and Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine’s electricity supply and nuclear power plants. On Wednesday, during an online briefing for journalists, Zelenskyy clarified to the Financial Times that he was only talking about Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which is currently under Russian control.
The Trump administration claims that US economic investment in Ukraine is a sufficient security guarantee to prevent a new Russian invasion after a possible ceasefire. In February 2025, Ukraine and the US reached a preliminary agreement on joint development of Ukrainian mineral resources, including oil and gas. At that time, the agreement removed the reference to potential $500 billion in production revenues and excluded projects that already bring funds to the state budget of Ukraine. Instead, a clause was added stating that the US “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain the security guarantees necessary to establish a lasting peace”.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly stressed that he wants clear security guarantees from the US in exchange for a share of natural resource revenues. However, a deal that Kyiv has deemed acceptable has not yet been signed due to difficult negotiations over broader economic and security issues. “We are ready to sign it,” said a senior official close to Zelenskyy, adding: “It would be strange to ignore this opportunity.”
Two Ukrainian officials involved in the talks said that the Trump administration has not yet provided Kyiv with specific new terms. “But I understand that they are working on a big deal,” one of them said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic. The Ukrainian side has insisted on first finalising the minerals deal before moving on to other aspects of US investment.
The situation remains tense as Kyiv tries to balance economic concessions with the need to maintain sovereignty and security guarantees in the face of ongoing war and geopolitical pressure.
