Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Matthew Murray lays out the strategic stakes of the U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal — a groundbreaking initiative to secure critical raw materials, rebuild Ukraine’s economy, and reduce the West’s dependence on China and Russia for essential industrial minerals. As tensions rise over mineral supply chains, and China restricts exports of rare earth elements, Ukraine is emerging as a key ally in the battle for resource security.
Murray, a longtime advocate for economic statecraft, explains how this agreement uses a whole-of-government approach to fuse diplomacy, development finance, private capital, and reform into a bold new model for U.S. foreign policy.
Ukraine holds over 20 of the 50 minerals the U.S. deems vital to national security — including titanium, graphite, and lithium — materials used in everything from EV batteries and aerospace to semiconductors and defense systems. But these resources remain underexplored, underdeveloped, or tied up in Soviet-era maps. That’s changing fast. With U.S. backing, Ukraine is digitizing geological data, auctioning off lithium rights, and opening its doors to transparent, long-term investment — while fighting corruption and resisting Russian pressure from within. Murray, who also chairs Velta, a Ukrainian titanium producer supplying 2% of global feedstock, reveals how Ukraine can become a global supplier of processed minerals — not just raw exports.
