US-Ukraine fund signs first critical minerals deal worth US$30 million

Conor Coleman, Chief of Staff at the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), has said that the joint Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF) has signed its first critical minerals deal and approved four other projects

Source: Reuters

Details: Coleman said the fund's current portfolio of projects is worth around US$70 million in total.

"It's absolutely imperative for the Ukrainian people that ​we're investing now," he said.

The first minerals deal involves an investment of around US$30 million in a "joint investment platform" with BGV Group, co-owned by Ukraine's ATB supermarket chain co-owner Hennadii Butkevych.

Coleman said the platform will initially focus on early-stage mining projects across Ukraine, targeting deposits of rare earth elements, uranium, beryllium and zirconium.

"They are all on the US critical minerals list, so it ties in very well with what we're looking to do from a [US] administration priority [standpoint]," he noted.

Two other new projects are aimed at strengthening Ukraine's electricity and heating networks ahead of winter.

Coleman said one of them will complement an almost US$100 million loan to Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK for a new battery storage system capable of providing backup power to around 600,000 households for two hours. The new deal will ensure the company has access to capital if its equipment is damaged by Russian strikes.

In addition, the investment fund will acquire a stake in a cogeneration platform that will develop a network of decentralised energy hubs. These are intended to help restore the supply of essential services to Ukrainian homes.

Coleman said that URIF is currently seeking additional capital to expand its investment capacity.

Background:

• Ukraine and the US signed a strategic minerals agreement at the initiative of US President Donald Trump in April 2025.
• Under the agreement, the governments of the two countries established the joint Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF). Its main purpose is to attract US and international capital into five key sectors of the Ukrainian economy: mineral extraction, the defence industry, energy, infrastructure and telecommunications.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon to help us keep reporting!