The agreement between the USA and Ukraine is in question: what happened at the last moment.

The agreement on joint mineral extraction between the USA and Ukraine is threatened by a disagreement over the procedure for signing documents. The American side demands the simultaneous signing of all three parts of the agreement, while Ukraine claims it can only sign the first part.

UPDATE: Secretary Bessent says U.S. ready to sign minerals deal “this afternoon”. — Nana Sajaia (@NanaSajaia) April 30, 2025

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Ukrainian side 'decided to make some last-minute changes'. 'We are confident they will review this. And we are ready to sign this afternoon if they are ready,' he said, adding that the American side made no changes to the agreed version. According to Ukrainian sources, the agreement consists of three documents: a framework intergovernmental agreement, an agreement to create a joint investment fund, and a technical part regarding the operation of the fund. Former Ukrainian Minister of Economy Tymofiy Milovanov noted that 'the USA wants Ukraine to sign all three agreements on minerals today, otherwise they threaten that the agreements will not happen at all'. He noted that this is 'legally impossible', as the Ukrainian government is only allowed to sign the first part of the agreement, while the second part can only be signed by a Ukrainian agency after ratification of the first part by the Verkhovna Rada. The draft agreement, which BBC correspondents have seen, speaks of creating a joint U.S.-Ukrainian government investment fund for the extraction of critical minerals in Ukraine. The document stipulates that future American military assistance to Ukraine may be considered an investment from the USA. A key point is that the document does not mention including already provided assistance in the list of investments - this is an important concession that President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on. BBC correspondents in the State Department and the White House reported earlier today that they do not see any signs of preparation for signing the agreement in the near future.