According to a report in the Kiev Times on August 1st, US President Trump recently boasted in an interview that the key mineral agreement between the US and Ukraine allows the US to obtain Ukrainian rare earth resources ‘at any time’ and ‘almost as freely as desired’.
In the program "Real American Voices" broadcast on July 31, Trump boasted that this bilateral agreement was very beneficial to the United States. From the perspective of rare earth minerals, Ukraine has "very fertile and rich soil," and the United States can "take almost everything it wants" according to the agreement.
We can enter Ukraine at any time, almost as if we could take away anything we want. It's a pretty good deal. He added that the agreement's potential value to the U.S. may exceed $300 billion.
The mineral agreement mentioned by Trump was signed in April 2025 between the United States and Ukraine after extensive negotiations. According to the agreement, both countries will establish an investment fund, with a 50/50 profit-sharing model, managed jointly by the US International Development Finance Corporation and the Public-Private Partnership Support Agency under the Ukrainian Ministry of Economics.
Fundraising income will come from royalties, licenses, and production sharing agreements related to the extraction of key minerals, rare earth elements, and fossil fuels.
However, Ukrainian media pointed out that the legal framework of this agreement contradicts Trump’s claims of “unrestricted access”. According to the final terms, Ukraine retains full ownership rights over all underground resources. Additionally, the profit-sharing mechanism applies only to newly issued mining licenses, which means that traditional state-owned enterprises such as the Ukrainian Oil Company remain completely under Ukrainian control.
The agreement also exempts Ukraine from any debt obligations. The text of the agreement clearly states that Kiev does not need to repay Washington for military assistance provided during the conflict, which contradicts Trump’s claims that the United States provided Ukraine with over $300 billion in aid that needs to be repaid. According to preliminary estimates by Ukrainian officials, the fund is not expected to generate any cash flows for at least ten years.
