NYT: Kyiv held off on US investment agreement to secure deal under Trump

An article published by The New York Times reveals that Ukraine has repeatedly delayed signing a memorandum of understanding with the administration of former US President Joe Biden, opting instead to finalize the agreement with the incoming US leadership following Donald Trump’s election victory.

According to the publication, Washington and Kyiv had been close last fall to concluding an agreement that would require Ukraine to provide the US with information on potential mining sector projects, ensuring that American companies had more time to participate in tenders. In return, the US would commit to offering technical assistance.

The agreement was initially set to be signed in October 2024 in Washington by then-US Deputy Secretary of State Jose Fernandez and Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko.

However, the Ukrainian side unexpectedly refused to travel to the American capital. A second signing attempt was scheduled for November 13 in Warsaw, but Sviridenko once again failed to appear.

NYT sources indicate that after Trump’s election victory, Ukrainian diplomats informed their American counterparts that Kyiv preferred to delay the agreement until the new administration took office.

The Trump administration had previously proposed a deal requiring Ukraine to compensate the US for military aid. According to the latest draft agreement, Ukraine would be obligated to allocate 50% of its state revenues from natural resources and port infrastructure to a newly established US government investment fund until the fund reached $500 billion.

On February 25, Trump suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might travel to Washington on February 28 to finalize the deal. However, Zelenskyy later refused to sign the agreement despite his initial willingness, citing the absence of security guarantees for Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian government later signalled that negotiations were progressing, confirming that Zelenskyy would indeed visit the US on February 28.

By Tamilla Hasanova