Ukraine is reportedly considering a revised U.S. proposal for its extensive natural resources that calls for the war-torn country to give up half of its revenues from rare earth minerals, gas, and oil, as well as from the earnings from its ports and other infrastructure.
The New York Times, which has reviewed the Trump administration's proposal dated Feb. 21, reports Saturday that some of the terms in the revision were even tougher than in its previous draft.
The proposed agreement, if approved, shifts the United States' alliance in the Russia-Ukraine war from a protective stance to one more concerning money.
The Trump administration's terms, if approved, will take funds from Ukraine that are now being invested in its defense and military industry and money that could help rebuild the nation once the three-year war comes to an end.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been seeking security guarantees as part of any agreement that is reached. The guarantees were absent last week, resulting in his refusal to sign off on the deal.
The new document, however, also does not provide commitments to Ukraine from the United States to support the war effort but instead says that the United States has the intention of providing a commitment to help the nation with its economic development.
The revised document says the revenues from Ukraine's resources will be placed in a fund with the United States holding 100% financial interest.
It also says Ukraine must contribute to the fund until the amount in it reaches $500 billion, which President Donald Trump says the country owes the United States in exchange for its assistance with the war.
"President Zelensky is going to sign that deal, and you will see that in the very short term," national security adviser Mike Waltz said Friday. "That is good for Ukraine. What better could you have for Ukraine than to be in an economic partnership with the United States?"
And Trump, speaking later from the Oval Office, said that there will be a deal signed, "or there's going to be a lot of problems with them."
The previous version of the deal did not mention the $500 billion demand. Trump, however, has said publicly that is the amount he wants. It has not been made clear if the money would be applied to future support for Ukraine or in exchange for the military and financial assistance that has been sent there.
While Ukraine is said to be strongly considering the latest deal, it has not definitely agreed on it.
Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk told local media that on Monday, a government-level group plans to work on the agreement, adding that Ukraine wants special security guarantees to be included.
The revision comes while Ukraine has been facing increased pressure from Trump, who says access to the country's mineral holdings is necessary to repay the United States the billions it has provided to Kyiv.
The latest document also states that the United States could continue to aid Ukraine, but says that if that happens, Ukraine must contribute twice the amount of the aid the United States could give it into the fund.
The draft agreement also includes provisions to collect revenue from Russian-occupied territories if they are freed. That share would collect 66% of the revenues. Russia is occupying about a fifth of Ukraine, including large parts of the Donbas region, where there are many natural resources.
A second document, described as the Fund Agreement, will be concluded later to hammer out further details, reports The Times.
The potential deal, though, has been a large part of the dispute between Zelenskyy and Trump, who has referred to the Ukrainian leader as an "unelected dictator" and has claimed that Ukraine started the war with Russia, which had carried out the invasion of the much-smaller nation.
Zelenskyy has accused Trump of living in a "disinformation web," prompting backlash from the administration that may have led to the extra demands in the current proposed agreement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's major exports come from agriculture, steel, metal smelting, and programming work for Silicon Valley, not from natural resources, which comprised 2.5% of the country's budget revenue in 2024.