The new US-Ukraine minerals agreement, months in the making, marks a defining moment in the war’s third year ~ not just for Kyiv, but for Washington and its global standing. With a blend of economic access and vague military reassurances, the deal exemplifies a uniquely American way of waging peace: profitdriven, calculated, and transactional. The deal grants American investors joint access to Ukraine’s considerable mineral, oil, and gas reserves, while officially preserving Ukrainian ownership.

For a country ravaged by war, this influx of foreign capital ~ under the guise of reconstruction ~ is both a boon and a tight-rope. It signals hope for rebuilding, but also opens a new front: economic sovereignty in the shadow of geopolitical survival. There is no requirement for Ukraine to “repay” the hundreds of billions in aid it has received ~ an idea that had reportedly been floated by the Trump administration. Instead, Washington’s return is framed as........

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