Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine will not recognize previously provided U.S. military aid as loans and emphasized that a new minerals agreement proposed by Washington is markedly different from earlier drafts and must undergo thorough legal review before any decision is made.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on March 28, Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine’s openness to deepening economic cooperation with the United States, particularly in the critical minerals sector. However, he said that Kyiv would reject any agreement that undermines its sovereignty, compromises its bid for European Union membership, or demands repayment for prior wartime assistance.
“It is an entirely different document,“ Zelenskyy said of the latest U.S. proposal. ”There are many things that were not discussed, and also some things that ... the parties had already rejected. I don’t want to raise a wave, I really want us to get a specific review by lawyers at the highest level.”
While Zelenskyy did not confirm whether the latest draft explicitly calls for converting past U.S. assistance into repayable loans, he made clear that any such condition would be unacceptable.
“If this question is being raised there—we will not recognize it [U.S. military aid] as loans,” he said. “At least when talking about the past aid.”
A summary of the proposed deal, reviewed by Reuters, indicates that Washington is seeking repayment of all U.S. aid to Ukraine since 2022, plus 4 percent annual interest, before Kyiv could access any profits from a jointly managed natural resource fund. Under the terms described in the summary, Ukraine would be required to contribute all revenue from state and private resource enterprises to the fund, which would be managed by a five-member board—three appointed by the United States and two by Ukraine.
The draft also reportedly grants the United States first rights to purchase Ukrainian-extracted resources. It does not include a longstanding Kyiv demand for future U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, which Washington has long rejected.
The Epoch Times could not independently verify the contents of the draft agreement.
Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that the deal remains under discussion and said that Ukraine is working to ensure its interests are fully reflected.
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada—similar to the U.S. Congress—would need to approve the final version of the agreement and amend Ukrainian laws on budget and taxes to implement the deal, according to Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the unicameral legislative body.
In her social media post, Svyrydenko said that public debate over the agreement at this stage would “only harm” the negotiation process.
Rare earths, a group of 17 critical elements, are vital to a range of technologies, from electric vehicles to defense systems. Trump has prioritized securing long-term supplies of these resources as part of his broader effort to rebuild the U.S. manufacturing sector.
On March 25, Zelenskyy confirmed that the United States had submitted a new, more comprehensive version of the agreement, calling it a “full-scale” proposal that goes beyond the previous framework. He said both sides would likely continue refining the document’s provisions.
Trump, for his part, told reporters on March 24 that he expects the minerals and economic cooperation agreement to be finalized soon. He also raised the possibility of U.S. firms taking ownership stakes in Ukrainian infrastructure, including power plants.
