Ukrainian MP Alleges US-Ukraine Minerals Deal Contains Hidden Clauses

A Ukrainian MP, Irina Gerashchenko, alleges that the US-Ukraine minerals agreement conceals details regarding Kiev’s “indefinite obligations” to Washington, with separate provisions outlining these obligations and circumventing parliamentary ratification.

Irina Gerashchenko, a member of the European Solidarity party, stated in a Facebook post on Friday that the recently announced US-Ukraine minerals agreement “hides” details about Kiev’s “indefinite obligations” to Washington.

Gerashchenko claimed that the deal includes two “secret,” supplementary documents that will not be subject to parliamentary approval.

The minerals agreement is said to give the US priority access to Ukrainian mining projects in return for assistance with an investment fund to help rebuild the country. While Washington initially presented it as compensation for past military aid (estimated at $350 billion by President Donald Trump), the final version, which the Ukrainian government released on Thursday, specifies that only future aid will count toward US contributions to the fund.

However, Gerashchenko asserted that the US and Ukraine signed three agreements instead of just one.

She wrote that “The Zelensky government has not provided deputies and society with all the agreements signed in the US, which, as it turned out, are three, not one,” and that “Meanwhile, they want to ratify only one framework document in the Verkhovna Rada. Others are labeled ‘implementation documents,’ despite the fact that it is in these two secret agreements that all the technical details of indefinite Ukrainian obligations are hidden.”

Gerashchenko told the country’s parliament on Friday that Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal “avoided” commenting on the two documents and the lack of security in the published agreement – reportedly a key point of contention during negotiations.

The claim has sparked concerns among Ukrainian lawmakers and the public regarding the true extent of the agreement. MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak stated on Telegram that Shmigal, when questioned, acknowledged the two additional documents but dismissed them as “technical” and not requiring ratification. Shmigal stated that the texts “must be signed after the ratification” of the main agreement, adding that lawmakers would see them when the Ukrainian negotiating team returns from the US next week.

Western media outlets have also mentioned the existence of additional documents, reporting that a last-minute disagreement arose when Washington insisted that Kiev sign all three. Ukrainian officials reportedly argued that they could not sign the annexes until the main agreement was ratified in Parliament. Later reports indicated that all three documents were eventually signed.

Further information regarding the contents of the supplementary documents has not been made public, and the Ukrainian government has not released an official statement addressing their existence or content.

“`