Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
An agreement between Kyiv and Washington regarding Ukraine's critical minerals and natural resources will grant Ukraine "military equipment and the right to fight on," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 25.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's office confirmed on Feb. 25 that the U.S. and Ukraine had reached an agreement regarding Ukraine's critical minerals after an intense period of negotiations.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office of the White House, Trump said that the agreement gave Ukraine billions of dollars in aid and "lots of equipment."
The deal gives Ukraine "military equipment and the right to fight on, and originally, the right to fight," Trump said.
It was unclear whether Trump was referring to previous or future military aid packages to Ukraine. When asked about the sustainability of continued weapons and ammunition deliveries to Ukraine, Trump said shipments could "go forward for awhile, maybe until we have a deal with Russia."
Trump also said that Zelensky would visit the White House on Feb. 28 to sign the deal.
The finalized agreement, dated Feb. 24, reportedly offers Kyiv no security guarantees in exchange for 50% of revenues from the "future monetization" of Ukraine's state-owned mineral resources.
The White House has said that the agreement is necessary in order for the U.S. to "recoup" the funds it has granted to Ukraine in aid packages over the past three years of Russia's full-scale war.
"Ukraine, I will say they're very brave, and they're good soldiers, but without the United States and its money and its military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short time," Trump said.
Trump also said he was open to striking a deal on critical minerals with Russia.
"I'd like to buy minerals on Russian land too if we can," he said.
"The rare earth, they have very good rare earth ... It's great for Russia too, because we could do deals there. They have very valuable land that isn't utilized, so something like that could take place."
Trump denied having spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding U.S. access to critical minerals in Russian-occupied Ukrainian lands.
Putin on Feb. 24 — the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine — said that Moscow was open to working with foreign partners on developing rare earth metal deposits, including in occupied regions of Ukraine.
Dominic Culverwell
(Updated: )
