After analyzing the document, journalists concluded that the United States aimed to take half of the revenues generated by Ukraine from mineral extraction, along with 50% of the financial value of "all new licenses issued to third parties" for the future monetization of these resources.
The authors of the article believe that the terms of the contract proposed for signing by U.S. President Joe Biden to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are "equivalent to the economic colonization of Ukraine by the United States," and such agreements would be "impossible to fulfill."
According to The Telegraph, the American draft agreement concerning Ukrainian resources "has caused confusion and panic in Kyiv."
The document states, in particular, that the U.S. and Ukraine should establish a joint investment fund as a guarantee that "hostile parties in the conflict do not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine."
The draft agreement, the publication notes, included not only the resources themselves (including mineral and oil and gas resources) but also Ukraine's infrastructure, specifically its ports.
Journalists conclude that the draft document was prepared by private lawyers rather than the U.S. State Department or the Department of Commerce.
The Telegraph points out that Zelensky himself proposed the idea of a stake in Ukrainian resources to the United States, "hoping to ease the path for continued arms supplies," but did not expect to face "conditions typically imposed on aggressor states that have been defeated in war."
The publication concludes that Zelensky is forced to balance between Russia's invasion and the economic pressure on Ukraine from its own ally.