The United States and Ukraine have committed $150 million to establish a reconstruction investment fund designed to channel foreign capital into Ukraine’s natural resources sector.
Announced on 17 September by Ukraine’s Economy Minister, Oleksii Sobolev, the fund will see Washington and Kyiv invest $75 million each, with the U.S. contribution provided through the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Ukraine will finance its share in two instalments, drawn from this year’s and next year’s budgets.
“This is definitely enough to make the first proper large-scale investments,” Sobolev told journalists.
The initiative forms part of a wider U.S.-Ukraine resources agreement, signed in April, granting Washington favourable access to projects in natural resources, infrastructure, and defence. The fund will operate on a project-by-project basis, with both parties contributing only once an investment is approved.
DFC officials visited Ukraine earlier this month, inspecting potential starter projects such as titanium, zirconium, and hafnium deposits in Kirovohrad Oblast. Mateo Goldman, DFC’s Senior Vice President for Investments, said: “Our $75 million investment is a major step to activating the fund and opening the Ukrainian market to new investment opportunities.”
The fund’s board is expected to finalise its structure by late November, including the appointment of an administrator and approval of investment guidelines.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko described the initial funding as a demonstration of “trust and long-term commitment” from Washington, noting that reinvested profits over the next decade will bolster Ukraine’s economic recovery.
With U.S. interest in Ukraine’s critical raw materials and gas reserves, Kyiv hopes the partnership will accelerate both energy security and post-war reconstruction.
