Trump administration backs down on U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, lowering Ukraine's demand to "repay" aid

On April 16, people familiar with the matter said that the United States' demand for Ukraine to repay aid appears to have eased during the negotiations between the two countries on a minerals agreement. After a round of negotiations in Washington last week, the Trump administration has reduced the estimated amount of aid the United States has provided to Kiev since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out in full swing from $300 billion to about $100 billion, people familiar with the matter said. This is closer to Ukraine's own estimate of more than $90 billion. The Trump administration is pressing Kiev to reach an agreement to share profits from future investment projects in Ukraine, including minerals and infrastructure. Trump believes this is compensation for tens of billions of dollars in arms and other aid provided to Ukraine by the administration under former President Biden. A US Treasury spokesperson said the technical talks had been very productive, adding that they looked forward to concluding them as soon as possible.