US and Ukraine sign critical minerals deal.
Earth and minerals are loaded onto trucks at an open-pit mine near the frontline on February 26, 2025 in Donetsk Region, Ukraine. Pierre Crom/Getty Images CNN — The United States and Ukraine have signed an “economic partnership agreement” that will give Washington access to Kyiv’s rare earth minerals in exchange for establishing an investment fund in Ukraine. The US and Ukraine have been trying to hammer out the natural resources agreement since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. The deal comes after weeks of intense negotiations that at times turned bitter and temporarily derailed Washington’s aid to Ukraine. The US Treasury Department on Wednesday announced that both countries signed the agreement. “As the President has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administ...