Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to sign a deal with US President Donald Trump on Friday that will grant the United States access to Ukraine’s vast reserves of critical and rare earth mineral deposits.
Zelenskyy has already agreed to the preliminary terms of the deal, which Trump claims is designed to help US taxpayers recover aid sent to Ukraine during the war with Russia, which began with a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Following the signing of the deal, both parties will begin negotiations on establishing a Reconstruction Investment Fund to determine how resources will be allocated.
What are the known deal terms?
The deal outlines a proposal for the US and Ukraine to develop a plan to utilize future revenues from Ukraine’s rare earth and critical mineral reserves, as well as its oil and gas sector.
- A Reconstruction Investment Fund will be created—its goal is to use revenues generated from Ukraine’s natural resources to reinvest in Ukraine for reconstruction, further development projects, infrastructure, and state-owned enterprises.
- Ukraine will contribute 50 percent of revenues from state-owned resources to the joint fund.
- It is unclear where the remaining 50 percent will come from and how much control the US will have over the fund.
- The US will commit to supporting Ukraine’s long-term economic stability and prosperity.
- The US will support Ukraine’s efforts to secure lasting peace but will not offer direct security guarantees.
How much aid has the US sent to Ukraine?
President Trump previously demanded a right to $500 billion in potential revenues from Ukraine’s natural resources to compensate for US military aid and support provided to Kyiv. Zelenskyy has pushed back, arguing that actual US aid to Ukraine is significantly lower.
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks military, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the war began, the United States has donated €114 billion ($118 billion).
However, the US Department of Defense places the figure higher, at nearly $183 billion, which includes the cost of replenishing Ukraine’s defense stocks.
What minerals does Ukraine have?
According to data from Ukraine’s Economy Ministry, the country holds deposits of 22 out of the 34 minerals classified as critical by the EU.
Ukraine also has reserves of rare earth elements (REEs), a group of 17 metallic minerals essential for high-tech applications in electronics, defense, aerospace, and renewable energy, including lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium.
According to the United Nations’ Russian-language news service, Ukraine’s critical mineral reserves accounted for approximately 5 percent of the global supply as of 2022.
These critical minerals include precious and non-ferrous metals, ferroalloys, and minerals such as titanium, zirconium, graphite, and lithium.
Ukraine accounts for 7 percent of global titanium production.
Its lithium reserves, largely untapped, are considered one of Europe’s largest, estimated at 500,000 tonnes.
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Where exactly are these minerals?
According to the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), a public policy think tank registered in Belgrade and New York, prior to the 2022 Russian invasion, Ukraine had registered 20,000 mineral deposits, with 8,700 of them proven, encompassing 117 of the 120 most globally used metals and minerals.
The country has some of the world’s top recoverable reserves of coal, gas, iron, manganese, nickel, ore, titanium, and uranium.
Most of these minerals are located in Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Korovohrad, Poltava, and Kharkiv.
Russia, which controls approximately 20 percent of Ukraine, including large parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhia, holds about 40 percent of Ukraine’s metal resources, according to estimates by Ukrainian think tanks We Build Ukraine and the National Institute of Strategic Studies, as reported by the Reuters news agency.
Ukraine has stated that a significant portion of its rare earth elements are located in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Shevchenko Field of Lithium Ores, one of Ukraine’s largest lithium deposits, is situated in a rural settlement in Donetsk.
How much natural resource wealth does Ukraine have?
According to Ukraine Invest, the Ukrainian government’s investment promotion office, the country possesses significant natural wealth in mineral resources worth trillions of dollars.
The areas with the greatest natural resource wealth are located in the east of the country, primarily under Russian control.
The loss of access to these resources has not only impacted Ukraine’s economy but also disrupted global supply chains, particularly in high-tech and defense sectors.
Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine Invest reports that the mining sector remains a crucial part of the economy, with ongoing production in safer regions and growing international interest in securing long-term investment opportunities.
Who has the most rare earth minerals in the world?
The countries with the largest rare earth mineral reserves are ranked below based on their estimated reserves, according to the US Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025:
- China – 44 million metric tonnes (mt; 1mt equals 1,000 kilograms). It also controls about 70 percent of global rare earth mineral processing.
- Brazil – 21 million mt
- India – 6.9 million mt
- Australia – 5.7 million mt
- Russia – 3.8 million mt
- Vietnam – 3.5 million mt
- United States – 1.9 million mt
- Greenland – 1.5 million mt
- Tanzania – 890,000mt
- South Africa – 860,000mt
- Canada – 830,000mt
- Thailand – 4,500mt
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