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Gone quiet · last update Apr 30, 2025 / Ukraine

The US-Ukraine minerals deal, from Trump's demand to the April 2025 signing

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

The United States and Ukraine signed a minerals agreement on April 30, 2025, after negotiations over US access to Ukraine's natural resources.[1] A planned February signing fell through after President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued at the White House.[1] Ukraine signed an outline agreement in April before the two countries concluded the deal later that month.[3][1]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

A planned February signing fell through after President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued at the White House.[1] Ukraine signed an outline agreement in April before the two countries concluded the deal later that month.[3][1]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-02-03 (UTC): 5%, 10 of 190 tracked outlets (2 left, 6 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-02-10 (UTC): 7%, 15 of 214 tracked outlets (3 left, 8 center, 4 right)Week of 2025-02-17 (UTC): 5%, 10 of 194 tracked outlets (1 left, 6 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-02-24 (UTC): 22%, 43 of 197 tracked outlets (11 left, 21 center, 11 right)Week of 2025-03-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-31 (UTC): 6%, 13 of 205 tracked outlets (2 left, 7 center, 4 right)Week of 2025-04-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-14 (UTC): 3%, 6 of 201 tracked outlets (0 left, 3 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): 27%, 56 of 204 tracked outlets (14 left, 29 center, 13 right)Week of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 4 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (7 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Apr 28, 202514291356 of 20427%
Apr 14, 20250336 of 2013%
Mar 31, 202527413 of 2056%
Feb 24, 202511211143 of 19722%
Feb 17, 202516310 of 1945%
Feb 10, 202538415 of 2147%
Feb 3, 202526210 of 1905%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Apr 29, 2025 · first reported · Headline from WMUR

    US signs mineral deal with Ukraine amid tensions with Russia

Background

US President Donald Trump said on February 3, 2025, that he wanted access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals in exchange for continued US military aid.[4] Ukraine had offered cooperation over its mineral resources as a way to sustain American support against Russia.[4][5] German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Trump's proposal as "selfish."[4]

Read the full background (4 more paragraphs)

Ukraine rejected an early US draft. Speaking in Munich in mid-February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had instructed ministers not to sign because the proposal was too focused on US interests. A senior Trump administration official called his decision "short-sighted."[6] Zelenskyy later said a proposal seeking $500 billion in mineral profits as compensation for US wartime assistance had been taken off the table.[7]

By late February, Ukraine had agreed to terms involving US access to natural resources and a joint reconstruction fund, with security guarantees still to be negotiated.[8] Trump announced that Zelenskyy would visit the White House on February 28 to sign.[2] Zelenskyy made the visit but left without signing after a public argument with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.[1][8]

Negotiations continued. At the end of March, Trump accused Zelenskyy of trying to withdraw from the deal and threatened "big problems" if he did not sign.[9] On April 17, Ukraine announced that it had signed an outline agreement. It did not publish the memorandum's details, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the arrangement as substantially the same as the earlier agreement.[3]

The two countries signed the minerals agreement on April 30 after last-minute concerns from Kyiv. Ukraine's prime minister described it as "good, equal and beneficial."[1] The record ends with the signing and does not establish what the agreement subsequently produced.

Supporting stories (9)
  1. US signs mineral deal with Ukraine amid tensions with Russia
  2. Trump says Zelenskyy is coming to the White House to sign US-Ukraine critical minerals deal
  3. Ukraine says it has signed the outline of a minerals deal with the U.S.
  4. Ukraine’s mineral riches have long been eyed by its allies. Now they may be Trump’s price for military aid
  5. Ukraine’s rare earth elements could help keep US military aid flowing
  6. US presented Ukraine with a document to access its minerals but offered almost nothing in return - The Daily Reporter
  7. Zelenskyy says progress made on rare minerals deal with US
  8. Here’s what a Trump-Zelenskyy minerals deal could mean for Ukraine – and the US
  9. Trump accuses Zelensky of trying to ‘back out’ of minerals deal

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 10 recorded updates

April 2025

  1. US signs mineral deal with Ukraine amid tensions with RussiaHeadline from WMUR · 60 outlets
  2. Ukraine says it has signed the outline of a minerals deal with the U.S.Headline from NBC New York · 7 outlets

March 2025

  1. Trump accuses Zelensky of trying to ‘back out’ of minerals dealHeadline from New York Post · 13 outlets

February 2025

  1. Trump says Zelenskyy is coming to the White House to sign US-Ukraine critical minerals dealHeadline from NBC Los Angeles · 14 outlets
  2. Here’s what a Trump-Zelenskyy minerals deal could mean for Ukraine – and the USHeadline from Christian Science Monitor · 38 outlets
  3. Zelenskyy says progress made on rare minerals deal with USHeadline from NBC New York · 12 outlets
  4. Can the US and Ukraine reach a minerals deal?Headline from Al Jazeera · 10 outlets
  5. US presented Ukraine with a document to access its minerals but offered almost nothing in return - The Daily ReporterHeadline from Green Field Reporter · 7 outlets
  6. Ukraine’s rare earth elements could help keep US military aid flowingHeadline from Military Times · 10 outlets
  7. Ukraine’s mineral riches have long been eyed by its allies. Now they may be Trump’s price for military aidHeadline from KTVZ Bend · 11 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →