The Treasury Secretary Scott Besent became the first high official of the Trump administration to visit Ukraine, arriving on Wednesday for interviews on an agreement that would have exchanged access to Ukrainian natural resources for continuous military support.
Mr. Beesent’s journey comes in the middle of Kiev anxiety and among the American allies on the fact that the support of the United States to the Ukrainian war effort will be maintained with the return of Mr. Trump to the White House.
In opening the observations in a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Beesent said that “President Trump has a plan to end this war” and that “we would like an economic cooperation agreement. In exchange for this agreement, the States United will continue to provide material support to Ukraine.
Zelensky described the agreement as a “detailed plan” on the strategic partnership between the two countries that included opportunities for American companies and said that Ukraine wanted investments in its resources.
“I am grateful to the president and his message that will support Ukraine,” said Trump’s Zelensky. “And I know he is a strong man and I’m sure he will push Putin.”
President Trump declared Wednesday that he had a “highly productive” call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to start working for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Zelensky held a separate call with Mr. Trump.
Zelensky said on X that on Wednesday he and Trump had discussed a plan that would have ensured continuous American support in exchange for access to Ukrainian natural resources. The two discussed “preparation of a new document on security, economic cooperation and resource partnership”, he wrote. He said they had a long and significant conversation and that they were “tracing our next steps to stop Russian aggression and guarantee lasting and reliable peace.
“As President Trump said, let’s do it,” said Zelensky.
Besent said that his trip to Ukraine “should be a strong signal that war is an absolute priority for the Trump administration”. He added that his visit was destined to ensure that “the American people understand what we are doing here”.
The Trump administration has already sought an agreement for the United States to guarantee the rights to Ukrainian natural resources, including critical minerals, as a guarantee for further US assistance.
Tuesday Trump declared in a post on Truth Social that Mr. Bessent was sending in Ukraine because “this war must and will soon end – too much death and destruction”.
Trump, who created the limited expenditure in a variety of areas at the center of the first days of his new administration, also wrote that the visit would touch American assistance in Ukraine. The United States, he added, had spent billions of dollars “with too little to show” for this.
Mr. Zelensky said he accepted a visit by Mr. Beesent. “We are already prepared for meetings with the United States representatives – The negotiations will soon begin,” said Zelensky in his evening speech to the Ukrainians Tuesday.
The attention of Mr. Trump on the guarantee of mining rights was reflected in the choice to make Mr. Bessent the first high -level visit to Ukraine, rather than senior security or a military official to discuss the war.
Hours after Trump announced his visit, Russia launched an air attack against Ukraine who included a shot on the flight of ballistic missiles aimed at Kiev, the capital.
The missile strike, which took place shortly before 5 in the morning, killed a person and wounded four more, including a 9 -year -old girl, according to the administration of the city of Kiev.
Falling debris from the interceptions by the air defense missiles on Kyiv passed off debris that caused fires in the buildings in four districts and the explosions echoed through the capital for several minutes.
Flight shooting in Ukraine also arrived hours after Russia released an American prisoner, March Fogel, in what Mr. Trump said he hoped that he would be an initial step to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine.
Mr. Zelensky, in an X post, also expressed support for the end of the war. “This Russian terror against Ukraine will not stop alone,” he wrote. “At this moment, we need the unity and support of all our partners in the struggle for an end of this war.”
Overall, Russia shot six ballistic missiles and 123 drones that explode in Ukraine during the night, after a period of almost a month in which Russia has widely abstained by the use of ballistic missiles. The fights also continued along the first line in Eastern Ukraine, where the Russian forces resumed the assaults.
In his meeting with Mr. Beesent, Zelensky mentioned the burst of missiles at the beginning of Wednesday. Ukraine, he said, rely on the American aerial defenses. To defend himself from the attack of Russia on Wednesday, said Zelensky, Ukraine had shot 10 patriot interceptors, noting that the cost for this defensive action went to millions of dollars.
The Ukrainian army reported that 149 aerial bombs were eliminated by airplanes and over 2,000 short -range drones have been shot in the front line positions.
In another missile attack on Ukraine, Tuesday, Russia has affected the main region of production of the country’s natural gas, Poltava, continuing the attacks on the country’s energy infrastructures.
In addition to Ukraine, the Polish soldiers reported Tuesday that a Russian military plane entered briefly in her airspace, although she said she was in contact with its Russian counterparts. The error was attributed to a problem with the plan for navigation of the plan.