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But there was no mention of a security guarantee \u2014 which Ukraine had long sought to prevent Russia from regrouping after any cease-fir\u200be.<\/p>\n
Still, the much-anticipated signing of the agreement has almost certainly accomplished one thing that seemed almost impossible two months ago: It has tied Mr. Trump to the future of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,\u201d Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in announcing the agreement Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Analysts agreed on Thursday that the deal could guarantee Mr. Trump\u2019s interest in Ukraine now that he is publicly invested.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s a businessman \u2014 he always does the math,\u201d said Volodymyr Fesenko, a leading political analyst in Kyiv. \u201cHis business mind-set shapes his approach to politics. So his motivation in the agreement could help maintain U.S. interest in Ukraine. How this will work out in practice, only time will tell.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ukraine\u2019s parliament still has to ratify the agreement, which will probably happen in the next two weeks, parliament members said on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
In the end, it appears that Ukraine managed to get some of what it wanted, but not everything. The notable omission was the absence of a security guarantee.<\/p>\n
The signing of the deal on Mr. Trump\u2019s 100th day in office was just the latest twist in his ever-shifting approach to the war, which Russia started with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump has falsely blamed Kyiv for instigating the war and seemed to find more of a kinship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia than with anyone in Ukraine. He has repeatedly questioned why the United States became Kyiv\u2019s biggest ally under former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. And he has made no secret of his irritation with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Kyiv\u2019s requests for more military assistance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The nadir of the relationship between Ukraine and the United States came on Feb. 28, when Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Trump were initially expected to sign a profit-sharing minerals deal in the Oval Office. The meeting was a disaster. Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly castigated Mr. Zelensky, who was abruptly asked to leave the White House. The deal went unsigned. In the fallout, the Trump administration temporarily suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.<\/p>\n
But Mr. Trump has also repeatedly said he wanted to end the war, even campaigning on the promise he would do so in 24 hours. Mr. Trump has since said he was not being literal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As the Trump administration has pressured both Russia and Ukraine to agree to a peace deal \u2014 or at the least, a 30-day cease-fire \u2014 Ukraine has tried to look like the reasonable party. Mr. Zelensky, who has worked to smooth relations with the Trump administration after the Oval Office debacle, immediately agreed to the idea of an unconditional 30-day truce; Mr. Putin did not.<\/p>\n
Still, for Ukraine, the minerals deal offered an opportunity for some leverage. <\/p>\n
Ukrainian officials had desperately wanted the deal to include some kind of security guarantee from the United States. Without one, they feared, Russia could violate any cease-fire <\/span>\u2014 which Moscow has done before.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n