Why the new US resource agreement proposal unacceptable for Ukraine and how Kyiv should respond
On 23 March, Ukraine received the first draft of a new large-scale revenue-sharing agreement on its natural resources from the United States. This followed a three-week pause in negotiations, during which the US repeatedly refused Kyiv's proposal to sign the already finalised and agreed-upon deal.
In early March, there were speculations that Washington was preparing to revise some of the terms "as punishment." Later, US partners informed Kyiv that they had decided to abandon the two-stage approach, where an initial framework agreement would set the key parameters before a detailed intergovernmental treaty was signed, and instead move directly to a final document.
Read more in the full article by Sergiy Sydorenko, European Pravda's editor – Trump, resources and Ukraine without rights: how Kyiv should respond to the new US-backed deal.
The US has effectively scrapped previous agreements.
Donald Trump’s administration has abandoned all the compromises agreed upon a month ago and has proposed a version of the deal that is fundamentally unacceptable for Ukraine.
The new draft crosses nearly every red line previously negotiated, undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and contradicts the country’s future EU membership.
Moreover, the agreement would require Ukraine to repay all past US aid, which was originally provided as non-repayable assistance. This would instantly create a de facto debt of over $120 billion that currently does not exist. On top of that, the sum Ukraine would owe to the US budget would increase by 4% annually.
This move opens Pandora’s box, inevitably leading to similar claims from other countries.
Notably, the draft agreement contains no security guarantees for Ukraine.
Ukraine cannot sign the agreement in its current form. Doing so would be political suicide for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and harmful to the state. Additionally, such a deal has no chance of ratification in parliament. Without ratification, it would either never take effect or be immediately canceled, worsening both the political consequences for Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s relations with the US.
At the same time, outright rejecting the agreement is also not an option, as Trump would see it as a public humiliation, likely triggering serious repercussions.
The only viable approach for Kyiv is to continue negotiations without signing the deal, not just stalling for time but aiming for a better outcome. Previous negotiations have demonstrated the Trump team’s lack of expertise, and the way the new document is formulated leaves room for further adjustments.
The best course of action is for Ukraine to propose its own alternative version of the agreement.
This alternative draft still needs to be written, something the Ukrainian government is reportedly working on, which explains why Kyiv has not yet formally responded to the US proposal.
According to government sources, Ukraine’s objective is to return to the terms outlined in the memorandum that was ready for signing on 28 February.