U.S. Demands 50% of Ukraine's Resources in Deal Without Security Guarantees

The United States is seeking control of half of Ukraine's natural resource revenues while offering no security guarantees in return, according to a draft agreement obtained by the New York Times, Orda reports.

The latest version of the deal, dated February 21, demands 50% of revenues from Ukraine's critical minerals, oil, and gas, as well as stakes in ports and other infrastructure through a joint investment fund.

The U.S. would hold complete financial control of this fund, with Ukraine required to contribute until it reaches $500 billion – a sum vastly exceeding Ukraine's 2024 resource revenues of $1.1 billion and is over four times the value of U.S. aid to Kyiv.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 22, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed confidence in reaching an agreement.

We're going to get our money back because it's just not fair,  Trump said.

He added that they are "pretty close to a deal." In parallel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has stated Trump is "very confident" about reaching a deal to end the war "this week." No clarifications were provided.

The terms remain virtually unchanged from an earlier version rejected by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who cited the absence of concrete security guarantees.

Kyiv aims to initiate work on finalizing it by February 24, marking the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, according to Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of Ukraine's Parliament.

Additionally, Bloomberg writes that Ukraine opposes the size of the fund’s amount.

Kyiv believes the actual amount should be five times less and is approximately $90 billion.

Another Bloomberg source emphasized that the American version of the deal contains "questionable" points, so the parties need more time to come to an agreement.

Reuters reported that the U.S. has threatened to cut off Ukraine's access to Starlink internet terminals if it does not sign the agreement.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has denied these claims.

Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced that arrangements for a Trump-Putin meeting are underway.

Trump had previously indicated he would "probably" meet with Putin before the end of February to discuss various topics, including the war in Ukraine. Previous reports also emerged that the U.S. had requested Ukraine withdraw its draft UN resolution on Russian aggression.

Against this backdrop, the EU is reportedly considering confiscating part of Russia's frozen assets worth $280 billion.

Reuters reports that Russia could agree to use $300 billion of its frozen Central Bank assets for Ukraine's reconstruction as part of a potential peace agreement, provided some funds go to territories under Russian control.