Economic deal between US and Ukraine will tie the countries together for
years. Here’s what it says
 [February 27, 2025] By
SUSIE BLANN and JUSTIN SPIKE
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A preliminary economic agreement between Ukraine
and the United States would ensure long-term U.S. involvement in
rebuilding the country, but the deal leaves the question of security
guarantees sought by Kyiv to future negotiations.
According to the final version of the deal obtained by The Associated
Press, the United States and Ukraine will establish a co-owned and
jointly managed investment fund aimed at financing the reconstruction of
Ukraine and its war-damaged economy.
The agreement comes after two weeks of back-and-forth between Kyiv and
Washington over how the U.S. could gain access to Ukraine's natural
resources. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that
specific assurances for Ukrainian security must accompany a deal on
those resources.
U.S. President Donald Trump planned to meet with Zelenskyy on Friday at
the White House to sign the pact, which will closely tie the two
countries together for years to come.
Here's more about what the agreement says, and what it doesn't say.
What about security guarantees for Ukraine?
While the preliminary agreement references the importance of Ukraine's
security, it leaves that matter to a separate agreement to be discussed
between the leaders of the two countries.
According to wording in the deal, the United States “supports Ukraine’s
efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting
peace," and the U.S. has “a long-term financial commitment to the
development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine.”
“Participants will seek to identify any necessary steps to protect
mutual investments as defined in the Fund agreement,” it states. "The
American people desire to invest alongside Ukraine in a free, sovereign
and secure Ukraine.”
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said his
country “needs to know first where the United States stands on its
continued military support.” He said he expects to have a wide-ranging
conversation with Trump during his visit to Washington.
The economic agreement "may be part of future security guarantees, but I
want to understand the broader vision. What awaits Ukraine?” Zelenskyy
said.
A senior Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told the AP on
Wednesday that those discussions would take place independently from the
establishment of the joint fund.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the
sensitive negotiations, said Kyiv believes the establishment of the fund
would itself serve to bolster Ukraine’s security since U.S. and
Ukrainian investments would need to be protected amid continuing Russian
attacks.
How does the agreement work?
Under the agreement, Ukraine will contribute 50% of future revenues to
the joint fund from national assets including minerals, hydrocarbons,
oil, natural gas and other extractable materials. Kyiv has hoped that
access to those materials would incentivize the Trump administration to
help secure a fair and lasting end to the war.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to journalists during
press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP
Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
 The idea to involve the U.S. in
Ukraine’s natural resource wealth was initially proposed last fall
by Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv’s hand in future
negotiations with Moscow.
Ukraine would also contribute half of its revenues
from infrastructure relevant to the extraction, processing or
transportation of its natural resources, but those contributions
would not apply to assets that are already part of the Ukrainian
government’s budget revenue, such as state-owned oil and gas
companies.
Contributions to the fund will be reinvested annually in Ukraine to
promote its “safety, security and prosperity,” the agreement says.
Is Ukraine giving away its natural resources?
The agreement states that revenues from its natural resources will
go into the fund and be used for reconstruction of the country, not
that ownership or control of those resources would be transferred to
the United States.
On Wednesday, a senior Ukrainian official told the AP that the U.S.
will not own Ukraine's mineral and other resources. The official
added that the fund would receive 50% of the revenues that come from
natural resource deposits once they’re developed.
Is Ukraine paying off a debt for previous U.S. support?
The deal does away with earlier Trump demands that Ukraine pay $500
billion as compensation for Washington’s assistance until now. The
senior Ukrainian official said that contributions to the fund do not
constitute a repayment of any debt to the U.S. for its previous
support during the war with Russia, but an investment in the future.
The agreement states that the U.S. will maintain a long-term
financial commitment to Ukraine’s stability and economic prosperity,
and could make further contributions outside the fund in the form of
financial instruments and other assets critical for Ukraine’s
reconstruction.
Ukrainian payments into the fund could provide a mechanism for any
future U.S. assistance to be recouped in the long term, the
Ukrainian official said.
“We are not debtors,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday, adding that, while
he is grateful for previous U.S. support, Ukraine had not entered
into any agreements that would require previous U.S. assistance to
be repaid.
“There were no such agreements in the past, so there is nothing to
discuss in this regard,” he said.
The agreement will also seek to avoid conflict with any obligations
Ukraine has to the European Union as it seeks membership in the
bloc, or any potential conflicts with obligations to other financial
institutions or creditors.
___
Associated Press writers Hanna Arhirova and Vasilisa Stepanenko
contributed to this report.
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