Europe | A deal, of a kind

Ukraine has fended off Donald Trump, for the moment

A tentative framework agreement is vague but softer than was feared

 Bucket-wheel excavators mine rare earth materials on Ukrainian soil on February 25, 2025 in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine
Photograph: Getty Images
|Kyiv

After a painful negotiation, Ukraine is set to approve a deal with America to jointly exploit the beleaguered country’s minerals. Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, are due to sign a document—and pull back from a damaging war of words—when they meet in Washington on February 28th. Mr Trump is sure to declare it a victory for America. What it means for Ukraine is fuzzier.

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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “A tentative bargain with America”

From the March 1st 2025 edition

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