US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have signed a deal to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The countries have been discussing for weeks on a deal that would see the US develop and profit from Ukraine’s critical mineral deposits.

The deal established a jointly managed reconstruction fund, which is financed by new mineral, oil and gas projects in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Deputy PM Yulia Svyrydenko, who had signed the deal in Washington, wrote on X that it “includes no provisions regarding any Ukrainian debt obligations to the United States”. She said Ukraine would retain full ownership and control of its resources.

“It is the Ukrainian state that determines what and where to extract,” she wrote.

After the deal was signed on Wednesday, local time, US Treasury Scott Bessent said it was a sign of the Trump administration’s commitment to a “peace process centred on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term”.

“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,” he said.

Trump previously described the deal as a way for Ukraine to pay back the US for military aid it provided since Russia’s 2022 invasion. He has also repeatedly said he wants to end the “bloodbath” of the more than three-year war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to peace in Ukraine, but claims it cannot be achieved as fast as the US wants.

Photo: President Donald Trump greets President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine by The White House found HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.