SECURITY: US-Ukraine Agreement Hints At Continued US Security Assistance

Fox News has published the full US-Ukraine reconstruction agreement signed by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian Finance Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko in Washington, D.C, yesterday. The document does not include formal security assurances but inculcates a strategic partnership that the US believes will operate as a deterrent for future Russian aggression. 

• The document notes that the US provided “significant” financial and material support to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. While the agreement doesn't call on Kyiv to reimburse previous assistance, Ukraine will be required to increase payments to the reconstruction fund to offset any future military or financial assistance, appearing to open the door for continued US military aid.  
• It notes the American people’s “desire to invest” in a “free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine,” with a “durable partnership” between the two countries.
• The agreement affirms a “long-term strategic alignment” between the US and Ukraine, stating it is a “tangible demonstration of [US] support for Ukraine’s security, prosperity, reconstruction, and integration into global economic frameworks”.
• It notes that the US, EU, and other states supporting Ukraine should benefit from the investments in mining, energy, and related technology, but stresses that “states and other persons” who have “acted adversely to Ukraine” should not benefit from the reconstruction, a clear reference to Russia.
• Regarding minerals, the document states that Ukraine retains sovereignty over its natural resources and the right to determine resources to made available for extraction.
• The document notes that Ukraine’s recovery requires structural and institutional reforms, in according with democratic values, market principles, and rule of law, in additional to financial investment.