In short:
Ukraine and the United States have agreed on the terms of a critical minerals deal to compensate for the billions of dollars worth of wartime aid the European nation received under former president Joe Biden.
The deal is expected see the US jointly develop Ukraine's mineral wealth, with revenues going to a newly-created fund that would be "joint for Ukraine and America".
What's next?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Washington, DC this week, where the critical minerals deal could be signed with US President Donald Trump.
Ukraine and the United States have agreed terms on a critical minerals deal, which a senior Ukrainian official says could be signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a trip to Washington, DC.
US President Donald Trump had demanded Ukraine give access to its rare earth minerals to compensate for the billions of dollars worth of wartime aid it received under former president Joe Biden.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Donald Trump, pictured during their last meeting in New York in September, are set to sign a joint critical minerals deal. Â (Reuters: Shannon Stapleton)
The deal would see the US jointly develop Ukraine's mineral wealth, with revenues going to a newly-created fund that would be "joint for Ukraine and America", a senior Ukrainian source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The source said the draft of the deal included a reference to "security", but did not explicitly set out the US's commitments — one of Kyiv's prior demands for an agreement.
Trump Ukraine rare earths deal explained
Photo shows Two men speaking
"There is a general clause that says America will invest in a stable and prosperous sovereign Ukraine, that it works for a lasting peace, and that America supports efforts to guarantee security," the source told AFP.
The source also said Washington had cut clauses that would have been unfavourable to Ukraine, including that it provide "$US500 billion" ($788.5 billion) worth of resources.
"Now government officials are working on the details … As of now, we are considering a visit to Washington for Friday to sign the agreement," the source said.
It is understood that the US and Ukraine would have joint ownership of the revenue fund, and Ukraine would in the future contribute 50 per cent of future proceeds from state-owned resources, including minerals, oil, and gas.
The deal does not, however, include security guarantees, but one official said that this would be something the two presidents would discuss when they meet.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday local time, Mr Trump said that he was confident about the minerals deal with Ukraine being finalised on Friday, and said he would also "like to buy minerals on Russian land, too".
Donald Trump is confident the Ukraine minerals deal with be finalised and signed during Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to Washington, DC. (Reuters: Evelyn Hockstein)
"Without the United States and its money and its military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short period of time," he said.
"I spoke with President Putin, I think he wants to settle it and wants to get back to life."
Mr Trump also said that he would expect to see some form of European peacekeeping troops deployed into Ukraine if an agreement was struck to end the war with Russia.
Moscow has previously refused to accept any NATO troops being sent to the front lines.
The Trump administration proposes taking 50 per cent of Ukraine's rare earth minerals as compensation for US aid during the Russia-Ukraine war. (Reuters: Thomas Peter )
Ukraine had asked for security guarantees from the US as part of any agreement.
The minerals deal is central to Kyiv's push to win support from the US as Mr Trump seeks to rapidly end the war with Russia.
Both Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy exchanged hostile words last week.
The US president called Mr Zelenskyy an unpopular "dictator" who needed to cut a quick peace deal or lose his country, while the Ukrainian leader said the US president was living in a "disinformation bubble".
One of the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told Reuters the White House had proposed the Ukrainian president's visit to Washington, DC.
Which minerals does Trump want and why?
The Trump administration has proposed claiming 50 per cent of Ukraine's critical minerals, which include graphite, uranium, titanium and lithium, the latter of which is a key component in electric car batteries.
"Trump has a focus on rare earth minerals — rather than agricultural products or other resources — as they are valuable to the US defence and security industry and provide leverage in US resource competition with China," Jessica Genauer, a senior lecturer in International Relations at Flinders University, told the ABC.
"In the eyes of Trump's supporters, Trump demanding a deal for the US on Ukraine's rare earth minerals is a strong move that ensures that the US does not provide military or other aid without benefits in return."
Jared Mondschein, the director of research at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, agreed and said critical minerals — including rare earths — were more consequential to the future of the global economy than farmland.
"It's crucial to remember that China dominates global supply chains for critical minerals, doing about 90 per cent of their processing," he said.
The minerals deal also has "an important geo-economic and geopolitical impact" for the US, Ukraine and each country's allies, according to former US ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst.
"On the geo-economic side, we know that the Russians have played nasty, hardball with their hydrocarbons for political purposes, meaning oil and gas supply," he told the ABC.
"The Chinese have done the same with their rare earth minerals. Ukraine has substantial resources, both of hydrocarbons and critical minerals. They would be a far more reliable supplier for the United States.
Mr Herbst said the deal would also progress Mr Trump's goal of ending the war in Ukraine.
"Trump is transactional. This gives him something concrete for another reason for him — to do what he set out to do, to achieve quickly, a stable end to Moscow's war in Ukraine," he said.
"This I think will help Trump refocus on the real problem to a peace deal soon, which is Putin himself."
ABC/Wires