A Deal That Isn’t, A Shift That Is

As Washington and Kyiv sign a minerals MOU, the real story unfolded in Paris — where Europe claimed its seat, and Ukraine’s preemptive warning shaped the tone of the ceasefire talks.

Woof. Yesterday was one of those days.

So many things — important things — happened all at once.

After months of back-and-forth, refusals, declarations of intent, disappointments, and dead ends, the long-stalled minerals deal proposal between Ukraine and the United States finally took a small step forward. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed a Memorandum of Intent — an agreement that, according to Ukraine’s Prime Minister, could pave the way toward a formal Economic Partnership Agreement and an Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t a deal. It’s a framework. A polite handshake, with more media coverage than substance. But that’s okay. Sometimes, we need the choreography before the dance.

What is worth noting, though, is a subtle shift buried in the text: the MOU introduces a structure for an investment fund focused explicitly on Ukraine’s reconstruction. And that is new.