Ukraine ready to sign mineral resources deal with US on Wednesday

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in February. Picture: Mystyslav Chernov/AP

Ukraine is prepared to sign a landmark mineral resources agreement with the United States in Washington on Wednesday, according to two senior Ukrainian officials.

Economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko is currently in Washington for the final co-ordination of the agreement’s technical details, the sources said.

It was not immediately clear whether the Trump administration was also ready to sign the deal.

Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

US President Donald Trump has said he wants Ukraine’s rare earth elements as a condition of further support in its more than three-year war with Russia.

The Ukrainian cabinet is expected to approve the agreement’s text before the Washington meeting, after which it will be signed by an authorised government representative.

The deal will then require ratification in the Ukrainian parliament before it can take effect.

According to one of the Ukrainian officials, multiple documents are involved – including a main agreement and at least two technical accords outlining the structure and operations of the joint fund.

The official said that the Ukrainian side is generally satisfied with how the agreement has evolved following negotiations between both teams.

The other senior official expressed hope that there would be no further changes from Washington’s side.

Ukraine has introduced new provisions to the agreement, aiming to address earlier concerns that the initial US draft, presented in March, disproportionately favoured American interests.

Firefighters put out a fire following a Russian drone attack that hit apartment buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Negotiations between the two sides have continued steadily since then.

One industry official close to the discussions said that more “details and not just declarations” were added to the text.

In Moscow, a senior Kremlin official said on Wednesday that clinching a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war “is far too complex to be done quickly”, as the US labours to bring momentum to peace efforts and expresses frustration over the slow progress.

Meanwhile, a night-time Russian drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, wounded at least 45 civilians, officials said.

The United Nations reported that the number of Ukrainian civilian casualties in the more than three-year war has surged in recent weeks amid Washington’s attempts to broker a peace agreement.