A text full of vagueness, without safeguards and without a real valuation of the mineral wealth that Ukraine possesses is the Rare Earths Agreement, which the Kiev regime signed with the US.
The bilateral agreement of 500 billion dollars includes 11 points on future sources of income from Ukraine’s wealth-producing resources without giving Kiev the security guarantees it requested. The only thing that the Ukrainian side extracts, as it claims, is that the fund will not belong exclusively to the US.
The text of the agreement also does not make the slightest allusion to the mineral wealth found in the territories annexed by Russia. According to estimates, 70% of Ukraine’s mineral wealth is located in territories annexed by the Russian army. However, if the agreement had been preceded by a reliable assessment of Ukraine’s mineral wealth, then it could be described as colonialist.
Kiev and Washington reached an agreement on February 25, 2025. Negotiations over the agreement fueled tensions between US leader Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week.
The US reportedly submitted three proposals, the first two of which were rejected by the Ukrainian side because they did not include security guarantees, even as Washington stepped up pressure.
Zelensky is likely to travel to Washington for a signing ceremony in the coming days. The deal could be signed on February 28, according to reports. Zelensky admitted that the agreement was “thoroughly reviewed by our government officials,” although he added that it does not contain security guarantees for Ukraine.
“The important thing is that the agreement talks about ‘partners’ and a ‘Ukrainian-American’ fund, not an American one,” he added. The agreement sets out the terms of the Reconstruction Investment Fund, created by the United States and Ukraine. This document will require ratification by the Ukrainian parliament.
On February 26, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that the terms of the agreement had not been finalized and work on it was continuing.
The full text is as follows: Bilateral Agreement on a Reconstruction Investment Fund
The United States has provided significant financial and material support to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and we recognize that the American people desire to invest with Ukraine in a free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine.
The United States and Ukraine desire lasting peace in Ukraine and a lasting partnership between the two peoples and their governments.
The United States and Ukraine recognize Ukraine’s contribution to strengthening international peace and security by voluntarily abandoning the world’s third-largest nuclear weapons arsenal.
The United States and Ukraine desire to ensure that those states and other individuals who acted negatively toward Ukraine in the conflict will not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine after a lasting peace.
Now therefore, the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Ukraine do hereby enter into this Bilateral Agreement Establishing Terms and Conditions for a Reconstruction Investment Fund to Deepen the Partnership between the United States of America and Ukraine, as set forth herein:
1. The Governments of Ukraine and the United States, with the aim of achieving lasting peace in Ukraine, intend to establish a Reconstruction Investment Fund (Fund), shall cooperate in the Fund through joint ownership, which shall be further defined as the Fund Agreement. Joint ownership shall take into account the actual contributions of the Participants (United States, Ukraine) as set forth in Sections 3 and 4.
The Fund shall be jointly administered by representatives of the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the United States of America. More detailed terms regarding the governance and operation of the Fund shall be set forth in a subsequent agreement (the Fund Agreement) to be negotiated immediately following the conclusion of this Bilateral Agreement.
The maximum percentage of ownership of the equity and financial interests of the Fund held by the Government of the United States of America and the decision-making authority of representatives of the Government of the United States of America shall be to the extent permitted by applicable United States law.
No Participant shall sell, transfer or otherwise dispose, directly or indirectly, of any portion of its interests in the Fund without the prior written consent of the other Participant.
2. The Fund shall collect and reinvest the income contributed to the Fund, less expenses incurred by the Fund, and shall derive income from the future revenue generation of all relevant natural resource assets owned by the Government of Ukraine (whether owned directly or indirectly by the Government of Ukraine), as defined in Section 3.
3. The Government of Ukraine shall contribute to the Fund 50% of all revenues arising from the future monetization of all relevant natural resource assets owned by Ukraine (whether directly or indirectly owned by the Government of Ukraine), defined as deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas and other extractable materials and other infrastructure related to natural resources and infrastructure. as may be further described in the Fund Agreement.
For the avoidance of doubt, these future sources of revenues do not include current sources of revenues that are already part of the revenues of the general budget of Ukraine. The timing, scope and sustainability of the contributions shall be further specified in the Fund Agreement.
The Fund, in its sole discretion, may credit or reimburse the Government of Ukraine for actual expenses incurred on recent projects from which the Fund receives income. Contributions made to the Fund shall be reinvested at least annually in Ukraine for the promotion of the security and prosperity of Ukraine, to be further specified in the Fund Agreement. The Fund Agreement shall also provide for future distribution.
4. Subject to applicable United States law, the Government of the United States of America will maintain a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine. Further contributions may consist of capital, financial instruments, and other tangible and intangible assets vital to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
5. The investment process will be designed to invest in projects in Ukraine and to attract investment to enhance the development, processing, and exploitation of all public and private assets of Ukraine, including, without limitation, mineral deposits, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas, and other extractable metals, infrastructure, ports, and state-owned enterprises as further described in the Fund Agreement. The Government of the United States of America and the Government of Ukraine intend that the investment process will result in opportunities for the distribution of additional funds and greater reinvestment to ensure an adequate supply of funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine, as set forth in the Fund Agreement.
The Participants reserve the right to take such actions as may be necessary to protect and maximize the value of their financial interests in the Fund.
6. The Agreement shall contain appropriate representations and warranties, including those necessary to ensure that any obligations that the Government of Ukraine may have to third parties or such obligations that it may assume in the future will not sell, transfer or otherwise encumber the contributions of the Government of Ukraine to the Fund or the assets from which such contributions or funds are derived.
In drafting the Fund Agreement, the Participants shall endeavour to avoid conflicts with Ukraine’s obligations under its accession to the European Union or its obligations under agreements with international financial institutions and other official creditors.
7. The Agreement will provide, inter alia, a recognition that both the Fund Agreement and the activities envisaged therein are of a commercial nature. The Fund Agreement will be ratified by the Parliament of Ukraine in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On International Treaties of Ukraine.
8. The Agreement will pay particular attention to control mechanisms that make it impossible to weaken, violate or circumvent sanctions and other restrictive measures.
9. The text of the Fund Agreement shall be finalized without delay by working groups chaired by authorized representatives of the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the United States of America. The focal points for the preparation of the Fund Agreement under this Bilateral Agreement are: from the Government of the United States of America: the Department of the Treasury; from the Government of Ukraine: the Department of Finance and the Department of Economy.
10. This Bilateral Agreement and the Fund Agreement shall constitute integral elements of the architecture of bilateral and multilateral agreements, as well as concrete steps to consolidate lasting peace and enhance economic security resilience, and shall reflect the objectives set forth in the preamble to this Bilateral Agreement.
The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees necessary to consolidate lasting peace. The Participants will seek to identify any necessary measures to protect mutual investments, as set forth in the Fund Agreement.
11. This Bilateral Agreement is binding and shall be implemented by each Participant in accordance with its internal procedures. The Government of the United States of America and the Government of Ukraine commit to proceed promptly with the negotiation of the Fund Agreement.
