US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit White House on Friday to sign a critical minerals deals.
This comes after rift between US and Ukraine after President Trump labelled Zelenskyy a “dictator” and blamed Ukraine for the war that Russia initiated in 2022.
His administration initially proposed that Ukraine allocate $500 billion in future revenue to the US as de facto reparations for the military and humanitarian aid it has received. Zelenskyy rejected that offer but has continued negotiations to reach a modified deal.
“We’re saying, look… we want to get that money back,” Trump said on Tuesday, again overstating the total US aid sent to Ukraine, which stands at approximately $120 billion since the war began. He falsely claimed the US had provided $350 billion in aid and that European support for Ukraine was structured as a loan, a claim widely disputed.
Some of Trump’s allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), have suggested that US economic involvement in Ukraine’s mineral sector would serve as a form of security guarantee, as Washington would have a vested interest in protecting its investments. However, Trump has signaled that Europe, rather than the US, should be primarily responsible for Ukraine’s military security in the future.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy balked at initial US offers, arguing they did not contain adequate security assurances for Ukraine and that the proposed price tag of $500 billion would saddle generations of Ukrainians with debt. But Kyiv is also keen to use the investments as a way of locking the U.S. into Ukraine’s fate.
The latest version of the agreement says that the United States “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace” but does not spell out any US commitment to provide them, news agency AP reported
“Participants will seek to identify any necessary steps to protect mutual investments as defined in the … agreement,” it says.
After Zelenskyy spoke, a White House official made clear again Wednesday that accepting the agreement was a precondition of Trump’s invitation to meet Friday with the Ukrainian leader. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the invitation.
“This agreement may either be a great success or quietly fade away,” Zelenskyy said. “And I believe success depends on our conversation with President Trump.”
“I want to coordinate with the US,” Zelenskyy said.