Ukraine's first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on WednesdayUkraine and the United States have made "substantial progress" in negotiations on mineral agreements, and the two sides are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding in the near future.This progress is part of the Trump administration's efforts to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and is also seen as an important way for the United States to recover funds for military aid to Ukraine.

In his regular video speech in the evening, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that on that day, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs Sveridonko reported on the situation related to the negotiations of the mineral agreement, and the Ukrainian government team and the United States achieved good results on the cooperation between the economic partnership agreement.Relevant legal matters have been basically finalized.

Ukrainian President Zelensky previously made it clear thatUkraine will not regard the military aid previously provided by the United States as a loan.

"The technical teams of both parties have done very meticulous work on the draft agreement and have made significant progress. Our legal team has also adjusted several provisions in the draft," Sveridenko said on social platform X.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Taras Kachka said in an interview with his national TV station that negotiations are progressing smoothly and the two sides are likely to sign a temporary document - a memorandum of understanding soon. He said:No final agreement will be signed this week, because there is still a lot of work to be done, some of the provisions proposed by the United States need to be further refined. ”

Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine in 2022,The estimated cost of U.S. military aid to Ukraine has been lowered from the initial $300 billion to $100 billion.

Last month, the Trump administration proposed a new, more ambitious draft mineral deal. The agreement does not provide future security guarantees for Ukraine, but requires Ukraine to deposit all revenue from natural resources development of state-owned and private enterprises in its territory into a joint investment fund.

Sveridenko said that the agreement signed in the future needs to be approved by the Ukrainian parliament and will help promote economic development between the two countries. She said:The agreement will create investment and development opportunities for Ukraine and bring tangible economic growth to the United States and Ukraine.”