The governments of Ukraine and the United States are exploring deeper cooperation in the critical materials sector to encourage American businesses to invest in Ukraine's extraction and processing of mineral resources.
During a meeting on August 12 between Ukrainian Ministry of Economy officials and a U.S. delegation, discussions focused on implementing joint investment projects and other areas of economic partnership between the two countries. Attendees included First Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksii Sobolev, Deputy Ministers Taras Kachka, Volodymyr Kuzio, Ihor Bezkoravainyi, and Tetiana Berezhna, as well as Roman Opimakh, Head of the State Geological and Subsoil Service of Ukraine. The U.S. delegation was represented by Bridget Brink, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, and U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal.
"Ukraine thanks the U.S. for its unprecedented support in the fight against Russian aggression, including financial, humanitarian, energy, and expert assistance. Ukraine is focused on further productive partnership in key economic sectors and can offer a wide range of investment opportunities. One sector with significant development potential is critical materials. Ukraine is among the richest countries in Europe in terms of mineral resources, and the government is interested in collaborating with the U.S. in this area to help accelerate the green transition and improve regional security," said Oleksii Sobolev.
The First Deputy Minister emphasized that in April, Ukraine joined the Mineral Security Partnership Forum. The government is ready to develop cooperation in this field according to MSP principles.
The meeting also covered the use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's benefit. The Ukrainian government is grateful to the U.S., G7 countries, and the EU for providing financial support—$50 billion from future revenues of frozen Russian assets. Most of these funds are planned to be provided as direct budgetary support to cover the budget deficit. Another portion will be allocated for the purchase of weapons and ammunition, including from Ukrainian manufacturers, as well as for funding Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Oleksii Sobolev highlighted that the Ukrainian government's goal is to seize all Russian state assets located abroad for Ukraine’s benefit. He also noted the U.S. Congress-passed "Economic Prosperity and Opportunities for Ukrainians Act," which allows the U.S. to transfer up to $5 billion of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
