(Bloomberg) — Ukraine has pushed back against US demands for a $500 billion fund that would be part of a deal to give Washington a cut of the country’s mineral wealth, a Ukrainian official familiar with talks said.
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The fund would compensate the US for its assistance provided to the war-torn nation since the start of Russia’s invasion. Ukraine is arguing the actual amount is about five times lower at more than $90 billion, said the person who asked not to be named because the talks are private.
Negotiators need more time to finalize the deal as the current draft agreement proposed by the US has some questionable elements and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy isn’t ready to approve it, another person with knowledge of the talks said.
US President Donald Trump has piled pressure on Zelenskiy to accept the deal that’s been coming together against the background of escalating tensions between the two leaders and growing worries Ukraine will be shut out of eventual peace talks.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in the the Financial Times on Saturday that the deal proposes that revenue received by the government in Kyiv from natural resources, infrastructure and other assets is allocated to a fund focused on long-term reconstruction and development of Ukraine, in which the US will have economic and governance rights.
This would ensure the transparency, accountability and corporate governance necessary to attract private investment, Bessent wrote.
“Let’s also be clear as to what this is not. The US would not be taking ownership of physical assets in Ukraine,” Bessent wrote. “Nor would it be saddling Ukraine with more debt.”
Ukrainian officials discussed the potential minerals accord with US special envoy Keith Kellogg during his visit to Kyiv this week, after Zelenskiy rejected an initial offer from Washington earlier in the month. The proposal envisaged securing 50% of license sales and other proceeds from the minerals, oil, gas and ports, which critics denounced as reminiscent of colonialism of centuries past.
There is currently no such a straightforward demand, but the lack of assurances of future military and financial aid remains a sticking point in the talks, the Ukrainian official said.
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