Ukraine and the US have announced they have reached a vital minerals deal following months of sometimes fraught negotiations.
In Washington on Wednesday, the two countries said they signed an agreement on a joint fund to invest in Ukraine’s reconstruction, with a draft saying Washington would get preferential access to new Ukrainian natural resources deals.
“In recognition of the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, this economic partnership positions our two countries to … accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery,” the US Treasury Department said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi has said Russian forces have significantly increased the intensity of their fighting in eastern Ukraine just when president Vladimir Putin is publicly talking about wanting a ceasefire.
On Monday, the Russian president offered a temporary 72-hour ceasefire from 8-10 May to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and allies in the Second World War.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky says such limited truces are meaningless, and urged Mr Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.
At least three people were killed and 70 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day, authorities say.
