"Politically it's a good deal for us," Oleksandr Merezhko, Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee chair, told Newsweek.

The agreement — which the Ukrainian parliament must ratify — would establish a reconstruction fund for Ukraine that Ukrainian officials hope will be a vehicle to ensure future American military assistance.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha hailed a minerals deal signed with the United States as "an important milestone" in relations with Washington on Thursday and discussed the agreement with the European Union's top diplomat.