MP: Ukraine faces major legal overhaul to implement US mineral deal

Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak has said that it is necessary to make substantial legislative changes - amending up to 20 existing laws, including the Tax and Budget Codes - to implement a recently signed mineral extraction agreement with the US. 

Zheleznyak outlined the challenge in a post on his Telegram channel, stressing that parliamentary ratification alone will not suffice to bring the deal into effect, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media. 

"To implement the agreement, ratification by the Rada alone is not enough. Significant amendments to 15–20 laws, as well as to the Tax and Budget Codes, are required," Zheleznyak wrote.

He also noted that the legislative process would be lengthy, underscoring the scale of the legal groundwork needed before the agreement can be fully operational. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has released the memorandum attached to the mineral resources agreement recently signed by Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. 

According to the document, Ukraine and the US intend to establish a special investment fund aimed at financing the country’s post-war recovery. The fund is expected to support infrastructure, industrial development, and the strategic extraction of critical minerals vital to Ukraine's economic future. The memorandum does not include any provisions for security guarantees for Ukraine, nor does it acknowledge any existing debts Kyiv may owe Washington for previous aid.

By Naila Huseynova