A US official told the Financial Times on October 27, 2026 that President Trump’s representatives have discussed “a postwar economic framework to create long-term growth and investment opportunities for Ukraine” alongside possible postwar business with Russia. The most concrete US-Ukraine economic vehicle already in place is the Ukraine minerals deal of April 2025 and the joint fund it created, which has one reported investment to its name.
The same official set a condition on everything discussed with either side: economic agreements “would be included in and subject to a comprehensive peace framework that stops the killing in this brutal war; nothing is finalised.” The official did not describe what the Ukraine framework contains. On the Russian side, the FT said Peskov gave no response and a Dmitriev spokesperson declined comment.
Where it stands: The US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund approved its first investment, in the Ukrainian drone-software firm Sine Engineering, in Kyiv on March 25, 2026. Its size has not been made public. As of October 28, no second investment had been reported.
What did the US official mean by a postwar framework for Ukraine?
The phrase describes an economic package for Kyiv that would sit inside any peace settlement, but as of October 28 no US official had published its terms.
A similar line appeared after envoy Steve Witkoff’s October 21 meeting with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. A US official told CNN the discussions covered “a post-war economic and prosperity plan” along with security guarantees for Ukraine and a European security architecture.
President Trump framed it in commercial terms on October 24. “Certainly, we’ll do business with Ukraine and with Russia after this war ends, I would think,” he said, according to the Kyiv Independent.
The two tracks are not run the same way. The FT reported that the Russian business ideas have been discussed between US and Russian officials “without direct Ukrainian or European participation.” Earlier in October, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio called a negotiated end out of reach, Zelensky objected that Washington could not “negotiate with Russia about future economic projects” while describing an impasse.
What is in the Ukraine minerals deal?
The agreement set up a jointly governed fund that takes a share of income from new resource projects in Ukraine and reinvests it there. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Yulia Svyrydenko, then Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, signed it in Washington.
| Term | What was reported at signing |
|---|---|
| Signed | April 30, 2025, in Washington |
| Board | Three members from each country |
| Voting | 50 percent each, per Ukraine’s then prime minister |
| Money in | 50 percent of income from new licenses |
| Scope | Minerals, plus oil, gas and related infrastructure |
| US right | First refusal on buying resources |
| Debt | None, per a senior US official |
According to Svyrydenko, the fund draws “exclusively from new licenses,” with half of that new license income going into it. Shmyhal, then prime minister, said profits would be “reinvested exclusively in Ukraine.”
The White House cast the deal as a signal to Moscow. Its fact sheet, quoted by NPR, said the United States “has skin in the game and is committed to Ukraine’s long-term success.” RFE/RL reported that Washington sought access to “more than 20 raw materials” it considers critical, titanium among them.
Trump had earlier presented access to Ukraine’s resources as reimbursement for past US aid, RFE/RL reported. At the signing, a senior administration official confirmed the agreement “won’t have debt obligations,” according to NPR.
How does the reconstruction fund work?
It is a jointly managed, private equity-style vehicle that takes minority stakes in companies. Its backers are Ukraine’s Economy Ministry and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Washington’s overseas investment agency.
The DFC announced on December 18, 2025 that the fund was “fully operational and poised to start diligencing its first investments in 2026.” Its stated priorities run from critical minerals and energy to logistics, telecoms and new technology. The consultancy Alvarez & Marsal had been appointed fund advisor in November.
The fund does not run projects itself. It “will invest as a minority shareholder,” the Kyiv Independent reported, and DFC associate general counsel Jonathan Taylor described the aim as attracting private money “designed to act as a multiplier effect.”
What has the fund actually financed?
One company. Svyrydenko, now prime minister, announced that the board approved an investment in Sine Engineering, a Lviv firm whose navigation software lets drones fly without GPS.
She said Sine beat “more than 200 applicants,” over half of them Ukrainian, and that its software is used by “over 150 Ukrainian drone manufacturers,” including makers of interceptors. The amount and terms were not disclosed.
📨 Get Free Accountability Coverage Alerts
Free · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime
The Kyiv Independent reported that Sine was the first of three investments planned for 2026. The other two were still being discussed, and the US side had raised critical minerals and hydrocarbon projects such as oil and gas.
That makes the first payout a defense-technology bet rather than a mine, even though the agreement is commonly called a minerals deal.
How does the minerals fund relate to the 28-point plan and the Russia talks?
The late-2025 peace draft folded a Ukraine fund and a US-Russia economic track into one document. Point 12 of the text Reuters obtained proposed a “Ukraine Development Fund” for technology, data centers and AI, and a US partnership to “jointly restore, grow, modernize, and operate” Ukraine’s gas pipelines and storage.
The same draft proposed putting frozen Russian central bank money into a US-led rebuilding effort, a clause covered in our report on frozen Russian assets. The economic clauses are compared in our piece on the 28-point plan.
The FT’s account of the Russia side lists far larger ventures, among them Sakhalin-1, Druzhba and Nord Stream. Our overview of the FT report lists each one.
What does Ukraine say it needs after the war?
Zelensky’s most recent public requests have focused on security funding. Speaking to the Hudson Institute on October 23, Zelensky called for firm guarantees and “at least 10 years of international funding for Ukraine’s military” before any lasting peace, the Kyiv Post reported.
The financing gap is large. AP cited an IMF estimate that Ukraine will need 137 billion euros in 2026 and 2027, while the EU’s December 2025 package commits 90 billion euros across the same two years.
Against that need, the reconstruction fund’s single disclosed deal is a stake of unpublished size in a software company that the Kyiv Independent described in March as a 200-person team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ukraine minerals deal?
It is the agreement the United States and Ukraine signed in Washington on April 30, 2025. It created the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, run by a board with three members from each country, which shares proceeds from new natural resource projects in Ukraine and invests in Ukrainian businesses.
What has the US-Ukraine reconstruction fund invested in?
The only investment reported so far is in Sine Engineering, a Lviv-based maker of drone navigation software that works without GPS. The fund board approved it in Kyiv on March 25, 2026. Its size has not been disclosed. Two more investments planned for this year were still under discussion at that time.
Does Ukraine owe the US money under the minerals deal?
No. A senior Trump administration official told reporters at the signing that the agreement carries no debt obligations, and Ukraine’s then prime minister said Kyiv would not be asked to repay past aid.
What is the postwar economic framework for Ukraine?
It is the phrase a US official used in the Financial Times on October 27, 2026 to describe economic proposals discussed with Kyiv. The official gave no details and said any economic agreements would depend on a comprehensive peace framework, adding that nothing is finalised.
Is the minerals fund connected to the US-Russia business talks?
No formal link has been announced. In a single statement, the US official quoted by the FT described both a framework for Ukraine and possible postwar collaboration with Russia, and the late-2025 28-point draft paired a Ukraine development fund with a US-Russia economic agreement.
Sources
- Washington discusses Russian deals for US oil majors in Ukraine peace talks — Financial Times, October 27, 2026
- Ukraine and the U.S. have signed a long-stalled minerals deal — NPR (via WAMC), April 30, 2025 (updated August 10, 2025)
- Ukraine, US Sign Minerals Deal Creating Reconstruction Investment Fund — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, April 30, 2025
- DFC Announces U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund Fully Operational and Poised for First Investments — U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, December 18, 2025
- First US-Ukraine reconstruction fund investment officially revealed — The Kyiv Independent, March 25, 2026
- Draft of U.S.-backed peace proposal for Ukraine — Reuters (via The Star), November 21, 2025
- Massive strikes hit Kyiv hours after Putin agrees to fresh peace talks — CNN (via ABC17), October 22, 2026
- US, Russia confirm Trump’s latest Ukraine peace push is falling apart — The Kyiv Independent, October 8, 2026
- Trump wants ‘business with both’ Ukraine, Russia after war ends — The Kyiv Independent, October 25, 2026
- Zelensky Lays Out Ukraine’s Conditions for Lasting Peace — Kyiv Post, October 23, 2026
- EU leaders agree on 90 billion-euro loan to Ukraine after a plan to use Russian assets unravels — The Associated Press (via News4JAX), December 19, 2025
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.