"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
Scott Bessent, the U.S. treasury secretary, during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The framework agreement between Washington and Kyiv on Ukraine's natural resources has been finalized and will be signed by the two countries' heads of state on Feb. 28, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox Business.
The long-debated agreement establishes a fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of proceeds from the future monetization of state-owned mineral resources, including oil, gas, and logistics infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose plane reportedly landed in the U.S. earlier on Feb. 28, is expected to discuss the deal and possibly sign the framework agreement during a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump.
"Their (Ukrainian) governing council approved the deal last night. So, I have an agreement from their economy minister (Yuliia Svyrydenko). The deal is done," Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business on Feb. 27.
"President Zelensky is coming to sign the deal tomorrow... I'm sure President Zelensky and President Trump will have a wide-ranging discussion. But as far as the deal, it is complete, it is on paper."
Bessent clarified that the agreement concerns Ukraine's strategic minerals, oil, gas, and infrastructure assets, calling it a "win-win" as it "brings the Ukrainian people and the American business community together."
The treasury secretary presented the
initial draft of the deal to Zelensky during his visit to Kyiv on Feb. 12. Ukraine rejected the first proposals as they lacked clear security guarantees and significantly overstated the aid the U.S. provided to Ukraine during the full-scale war, presenting it as a debt.
Zelensky's reluctance to pen the deal prompted Trump to lash out against the Ukrainian president publicly, denouncing him as a "dictator" and accusing him of refusing to hold elections while echoing the Kremlin's false narratives about Zelensky's illegitimacy.
As the U.S. and Ukrainian teams made progress on the deal, the final version of which was obtained by the Kyiv Independent, Trump softened his rhetoric, seemingly retracting his earlier statements.
"Did I say that? I can't believe I would say that," Trump said during a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer when asked by a journalist whether he still considers Zelensky a "dictator."
While Ukrainian negotiators succeeded in pushing back on the toughest conditions set by the U.S. in the initial drafts, such as a demand for Kyiv to fill a $500 billion reconstruction fund and a 2:1 investment clause for Kyiv to double the aid given by the U.S., the current framework agreement still contains little regarding security guarantees.
Zelensky said that security commitments would be discussed in future rounds of talks with the U.S. and other partners, though Trump has already signaled he expects European partners to take responsibility for Ukraine's security.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Dominic Culverwell
