Stand behind Ukrainian independent journalism when it’s needed most. Help us reach 20,000 members.

Skip to content
Edit post

Economy minister to meet with party leaders before parliament ratifies minerals deal

by Abbey Fenbert May 6, 2025 1:07 AM 2 min read
Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Minister Yulia Svyrydenko signs a memorandum of understanding on a minerals deal with the U.S. on April 17, 2025. (Yulia Svyrydenko/Facebook)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukraine's Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will meet with each faction of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, before the government votes to ratify the minerals agreement with the United States, the news outlet Suspilne reported on May 5.

Svyrydenko signed the much-anticipated minerals deal in Washington D.C. on April 30 alongside U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The agreement establishes a joint investment fund between Kyiv and Washington and grants the U.S. special access to projects developing Ukraine's natural resources.

Before parliament votes to ratify the minerals deal, Svyrydenko will hold separate meetings with members of the Verkhovna Rada from each faction, Serhii Sobolev, an MP from the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, told Suspilne.

MPs will be able to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement during these meetings, Sobolev said.

"So far we have not had the opportunity to read the appendices, perhaps because they contain documents that represent state or commercial secrets and this cannot be announced publicly," he said.

The meetings with Svyrydenko will take place on May 6 and 7, according to Sobolev.

The Verkhovna Rada has scheduled the ratification vote for May 8.

The signing of the minerals deal followed months of negotiations that at times became contentious and strained the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine. The nations first planned to ink the deal in late February, but the agreement fell apart in the wake of the infamous White House argument between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The final deal avoids many elements in the earlier drafts that experts viewed as exploiting Ukraine, but still provides no concrete security guarantees from the U.S. The finalized agreement does prevent counting previously delivered U.S. military aid as a contribution to the joint fund.

A minerals deal won’t stop Russia’s war
News of Victoria Roshchyna’s brutal death at the hands of Russian captors shocked Ukraine and the world last week. Her body was returned mutilated — eyes gouged out, brain removed — bearing evidence of unspeakable brutality. It wasn’t an accident of war. It was a signature of it. This is

Independent journalism needs a community —
not a paywall.

We’re working hard to show the world the truth of Russia’s brutal war — and we’re keeping it free for everyone, because reliable information should be available to all.

Our goal: reach 20,000 members to prove independent journalism can survive without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise. Will you help us do it?

Can we reach 20,000 members?

News Feed

9:44 AM  (Updated: )

US, EU no longer coordinating enforcement of Russia sanctions, media reports.

EU sanctions chief David O'Sullivan noted that there is "no more outreach" between the two sides on sanctions evasion and that G7 cooperation has "also lost momentum" in this regard, according to an internal report from an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels on May 20, Suddeutsche Zeitung reported.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.