Trump administration demands Ukraine repay all aid since 2022 in new minerals deal

European Pravda reports this with reference to the text of the agreement, which the media has at its disposal. 

According to the authors, the text of the grand agreement states that Ukraine undertakes to compensate the United States for the cost of all assistance — budgetary, military and humanitarian — provided after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

This amount is designated as the “Initial DFC (International Development Finance Corporation) Contribution” to the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction and Development Investment Fund.

“The amount of aid to be returned is estimated at $123 billion, according to the Kiel Institute. Most of this money was spent on military support, including ordering weapons from American manufacturers, transferring surplus weapons, and replenishing Pentagon stockpiles,” the article says. 

According to the text of the agreement, Ukraine has to convert the Fund's income into dollars and transfer it to the accounts of the American side upon request without any fees. If such costs are incurred, they will also have to be compensated, the authors note. 

The sources of the Fund's income will be: 

• 50% of the value of all new licenses and royalties for the development of Ukraine's subsoil; 
• 50% of revenues from infrastructure facilities (the details of this clause are not disclosed in the agreement). 

It is also stipulated that the Fund will be able to reinvest part of its revenues in projects in Ukraine, receiving 50% of the state's future profits from these investments. 

“In addition, the agreement obliges Ukraine to repay the 'debt' to the United States on time, as it provides for an annual increase of 4%. This means that the longer Kyiv postpones payments, the more money it will have to compensate,” the media notes.

• Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that Kyiv and Washington could sign a minerals agreement as early as next week.  
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Thursday, March 27, that the U.S. has proposed signing a full agreement on minerals instead of a framework agreement.