The US and Ukraine have signed a deal that will give Washington access to some of the war-torn country's natural resources. Months in the making, it sets up an investment fund that Ukraine hopes will cement US assistance as the country struggles to repel Russia three years after the invasion.

Washington and Kyiv have signed a new minerals deal that will see the United States invest in Ukraine's rare earth and other deposits as it seeks to reduce military aid to the war-torn country. Kyiv says "rare earth metals are known to exist in six deposits" and an investment of $300 million would be needed to develop a deposit at Novopoltavske,