Zelenskyy's Art Of The Deal: How the Ukrainian president took a page out of Trump's book and got a win-win minerals agreement
And it is by this mantra that Trump has conducted himself both in the business world and in politics. But something curious happened this week. Another leader appears to have successfully used Trump's art of the deal on Trump himself. This is none other than Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Here's how things played out.
After Trump returned to the White House, the Ukraine-US minerals deal was seen to be a necessary arrangement to underpin the military-economic relationship between Kyiv and Washington that had evolved over three years of the Ukraine war. Trump framed this as a deal to recover the 'billions of dollars' the US had given to Ukraine as military aid. Kyiv, however, saw the deal differently – its aim was to tie American investments to Ukraine's security and future reconstruction.
Then came the big White House spat between Trump and Zelenskyy in February just before the deal was to be inked. Here, recall how Zelenskyy stood strong despite being ganged up on by Trump and JD Vance. Trump said, 'You don't have the cards'. Zelenskyy replied, 'I am not playing cards'. After the spat, Zelenskyy left leaving the deal unsigned.
Subsequently, Trump tried to pile up the pressure on Zelenskyy. US military aid and intelligence sharing were temporarily stopped. Russia used this opportunity to make gains in Kursk that Ukrainian forces had controlled since last August. On the deal, Trump made exaggerated claims that US had provided Ukraine with more than $300 billion in military aid, and Kyiv should repay. Zelenskyy flatly refused and said that US security assistance was guaranteed to Ukraine under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and that Kyiv wouldn't be paying for any military assistance over the last three years. Washington produced a new draft of the deal that required Kyiv to contribute all income from the use of natural resources by Ukrainian state and private enterprises to a joint investment fund, give the US first rights to buy the extracted resources, and allow the US to recoup all the money it had given Ukraine since 2022 plus interest at a 4% annual rate.
Zelenskyy replied that he wouldn't treat US military assistance as loan and couldn't sell his country.
As technical teams from both sides gave the deal its final shape, it became clear that sensible voices were eventually prevailing. The final agreement created a joint Reconstruction Investment Fund on a 50-50 basis. Both Ukraine and US will invest in the fund equally. Kyiv with capitalise the fund through licences on future projects in minerals, oil and gas. All resources will be owned by Ukraine. No ongoing projects are included. There is no debt obligation on part of Ukraine. There are no hurdles to Ukraine joining EU. US future military aid to Ukraine will count as American contribution to the fund. All profits the fund makes from future mining and drilling activities in Ukraine will be reinvested in Ukraine's reconstruction. US will have first rights to buy the extracted resources and US companies will naturally be the first to get reconstruction contracts.
Today, our government team reported on the economic partnership with the United States. We have an agreement. It has been signed and will be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada for ratification. And we are interested in having no delays with it.
All our representatives did a good… pic.twitter.com/iVMHbQXvux
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 1, 2025
This is a truly win-win, sensible deal. It upholds Ukraine's minerals sovereignty. Incentivises US military aid to Ukraine. And gives American companies the first rights to buy the minerals and get reconstruction contracts. Importantly, the joint fund will also attract American companies and technologies to mining and exploration, something which is really needed. And profits are expected to come in 10 years down the line. So the deal locks America into Ukraine's future development, serving as a form of guarantee for Ukraine's sovereignty and future in the context of the war.
Looked at this way, Zelenskyy actually got the deal he wanted. And he actually took a page out of Trump's book and didn't cave, stuck to his guns and protected his country's interests. In fact, Trump should be proud. Zelenskyy just perfected his art of the deal.
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