Russia has claimed Donald Trump has “broken” Ukraine after the natural resources deal between the two nations was finally agreed.
On Wednesday, the US and Ukraine announced they had signed a deal after months of negotiations.
A Ukrainian adviser has said the natural resources agreement will hopefully “lead to the establishment of lasting, enduring and just peace.”
Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department said the partnership “positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to ensure that our mutual assets, talents, and capabilities can accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery.”
However, a Russian official has suggested the deal is in fact a sign that President Trump has managed to ‘break’ Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and now deputy head of the security council, said Trump had “finally broken the Kyiv regime into paying for American aid” with Ukrainian minerals.
In a translated comment via the BBC he said: “Now they will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country.”
Negotiations had been underway over a natural resources deal between the US and Ukraine for months and had been due to be signed in February. However, negotiations broke down following Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s heated exchange in the Oval Office.
According to a former US ambassador to Ukraine, it was the impromptu meeting between the two leaders at the Vatican last weekend that proved a turning point in negotiations.
William B Taylor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that after Trump spoke directly to his Ukrainian counterpart, he began to doubt that President Putin was a reliable partner.