The U.S. and Ukraine signed a memorandum setting the stage for an agreement on using the sales of Ukraine’s critical minerals and other raw materials to pay the United States the money it has poured into a war that has left Ukraine destroyed and destitute. One can’t get blood from a stone, but you can always squeeze more revenue out of a vassal that has completely lost its sovereignty. The memorandum calls for an “Economic Partnership Agreement” and the establishment of the “Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.” The memorandum reiterates, almost tongue-in-cheek, U.S. support for a “free and sovereign Ukraine.”
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said there would be “a lot to do: to get the deal over the line as it must be ratified by both parliaments.” President Trump had put the figure that had to be advanced over time at a whopping $500 billion. He has since pared that number down a bit, but it is unclear what the actual sum will be in any final agreement. Ukraine’s Zelenskyy has complained that it would put in hock the revenues of the next ten generations of Ukrainians. This may very well be the case.
