Ukraine and the U.S. have outlined an agreement in which they would jointly fund Ukraine’s future security and reconstruction using an investment fund powered by the country’s rare earth minerals, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

The United States is pushing back against language in a Group of Seven statement portraying Russia as the aggressor in its ongoing war in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing sources close to the matter.

This is an audio transcript of the Rachman Review podcast episode: ‘Ukraine weathers new geopolitical climate’ Gideon Rachman Hello and welcome to the Rachman Review. I’m Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator of the Financial Times.

The talks between Russia and the US over negotiating the end of the Ukraine war make the front of several newspapers. The Financial Times calls it an "extraordinary turn of events in a matter of days",

This is an audio transcript of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: ‘Why Trump wants Ukraine’s minerals’ Marc Filippino Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Wedn

An economic partnership between Ukraine and the U.S. would benefit both countries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in an opinion piece for the Financial Times on Saturday.

Although I could see the need for Ukraine to cut a deal with the US for continued support, the idea of monetising natural resources in this way struck me as all too akin to the offer to buy Greenland, or turn Gaza into a resort. This is how autocrats do business. And deals with them never end well.

But Trump has given no indication he is prepared to offer assistance to ensure any agreement holds. European promises to re-arm — the president has been telling the continent to stop freeriding on US guarantees for the best part of a decade — may have come too late.

The plaudits in the House of Commons on Monday hailed from the opposition benches as the UK prime minister’s rivals lined up to praise his handling of talks with US President Donald Trump, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies.

In parallel, they should expand the model pioneered by Denmark of financing production by Ukraine’s arms industry, which has transformed its capabilities since 2022. That could enable a big boost in production of drones and missiles — helping to turn Ukraine into what the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen called an indigestible “steel porcupine”.

The value of Norway’s war windfall is almost equivalent to all US military and civilian support for Ukraine to date. As the US position on European security becomes increasingly ambiguous, Norway should deploy its windfall to the benefit of the European citizens from whom it came, by allocating it in full to Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction.