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Ukraine is reportedly ready to sign a landmark minerals agreement with the United States in Washington, though it's unclear whether President Donald Trump's administration was ready to, Ukrainian officials confirmed to the New York Post on Wednesday (April 30).
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is in Washington working on the final details of the mineral resources agreement with the U.S. and members of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's cabinet are expected to approve the agreement's wording, which would include the main deal and at least two technical accords ahead of a sit-down, two senior Ukrainian sources confirmed. The White House didn't provide any immediate confirmation as to whether the deal would be made official on Wednesday, according to the New York Post.
One Ukrainian official said they were hopeful that the U.S. wouldn't make any additional changes to the agreement. Trump claimed that he was expected to sign a deal with Kyiv giving the U.S. access to its minerals on April 17.
The president had previously claimed that Ukraine "may not survive" its war with Russia regardless of whether the United States continues its support during an interview with FOX News' Maria Bartiromo on March 9.
“Well, it may not survive anyway,” Trump said while defending his decision to decrease support for Ukraine, despite concerns from other European allies.
“We have some weaknesses with Russia,” he added. “It takes two. Look, it was not going to happen — that war and it happened. So now we’re stuck with this mess.”
CIA director John Ratcliffe also previously confirmed that most intelligence sharing with Ukraine had been paused and the Trump administration stopped aid to Ukraine following a heated exchange between the president, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
Trump claimed that Zelensky was "gambling with World War III" during a back and forth exchange as the rare earth minerals deal the two world leaders were supposed to sign fell through when the Ukrainian president was asked to leave the White House. Trump later claimed Zelensky could come back "when he is ready for Peace" in a post shared on his Truth Social account.