What happens now after Ukraine signs vital minerals deal with US as Trump administration release statement

A minerals deal has been struck between Ukraine and the US, indicating a huge strive forward toward peace in Eastern Europe.

The natural resources agreement will work for both Americans and Ukrainians, with the US establishing a reconstruction investment fund which will see the sovereign state work alongside its western ally to rebuild its heavily bombed infrastructure.

This deal has been a long time coming, after the POTUS previously warned Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that he would face 'big, big problems' if he backed out, sparking a heated exchange between the two leaders.

Russia has lit up the skyline above its southern neighbor with airstrike after airstrike ever since it invaded parts of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and currently occupies almost 20 percent of the country.

How much money has the US provided to Ukraine?

Since then, the US Department of State has claimed it has provided the equivalent of $182.8 billion in support to Ukraine, while non-profit Kiel Institute - a German-based organization that is tracking support going into Ukraine - puts that figure at $119.7 billion.

However, President Donald Trump has claimed the figure to be as large as $350 billion, although he's provided no evidence to support this.

What has the Trump administration said about the Ukraine minerals deal?

The US Treasury Department issued the following statement, that read in part: “On April 30, the United States and Ukraine signed an agreement to establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.

“In recognition of the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, this economic partnership positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to ensure that our mutual assets, talents, and capabilities can accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery.”

The statement went on to explain that both the US and Ukraine governments will work together ‘under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump’.

The minerals deal that the US and Ukraine have been brokering for well over a month, has finally been struck (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

What does the US-Ukraine minerals deal mean?

What the deal means is that the US will split any profits and royalties that Ukraine receives from any future sale of its 2.5-billion-year-old rare earth minerals.

It provides the Trump administration an economic incentive to help protect Ukraine by investing in its defense and reconstruction.

"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," said US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

"President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine.

"And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine."

The deal comes after Trump and Zelenskyy met last week during Pope Francis' funeral (Office of the President of Ukraine via Getty Images)

The deal is thought large enough to help the US recoup all its money it provided as aid to Ukraine since war broke out.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal insists that the deal is equitable for his nation, with Ukraine maintaining full control over its natural resources while adding that the deal brokered means the US would only profit off of new investments.

It means that there would be no debt obligations held against Ukraine.

The focus will now switch wholly on reaching a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.