The United States and Ukraine have signed a long-anticipated minerals agreement, granting Washington preferential access to Ukraine’s natural resources in exchange for the establishment of a reconstruction investment fund.

The deal, finalized after months of complex negotiations, comes more than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the economic partnership would enable both nations to jointly invest in accelerating Ukraine’s economic recovery and help to “facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war.”

“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Bessent said in a statement.

Since taking office in January, President Trump has championed a minerals agreement with Ukraine, contending that the joint development and commercialization of Kyiv’s reserves—ranging from rare earth elements and critical minerals to oil and gas—would serve as a form of repayment for the extensive U.S. assistance provided during the war with Russia.

Speaking at a town hall on the NewsNation network, President Trump described the deal as “payback” for the billions the United States has spent supporting Ukraine’s war effort.

Trump added that he “wanted to be protected. I didn’t want to be out there and look foolish.”

President Trump also confirmed that he discussed the minerals agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting at Pope Francis’ funeral last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that the framework for the deal had been agreed upon as early as mid-April.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Yulia Svyrydenko, said the agreement holds strong potential to deliver mutual benefits for both nations.

“It is important that the agreement will become a signal to other global players that it is reliable to cooperate with Ukraine in the long term — for decades,” Svyrydenko said via social media platform X, according to a Google translation.

As part of the agreement, Svyrydenko said it is Ukraine “that determines where and what to extract.”

She noted that the fund is being structured as a 50-50 joint venture, underscoring the equal partnership between Washington and Kyiv.