Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Last night, a senior Ukrainian official told the BBC that the terms of a deal - to allow the US access to rare Ukrainian minerals - had been agreed.

Reports suggested a US request for $500bn (£395bn) in potential revenues from using Ukraine's natural resources had been dropped. But we also learnt that Ukrainian security guarantees had not made their way into the deal - something Kyiv has been pushing for.

Twenty-four hours later, little more is known. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenksy has said it's important that at least a "sentence" about guarantees is included, but US President Donald Trump reiterated his stance that such assurances should be made by Europe, Ukraine's "next door neighbour".

We do, however, know Trump and Zelensky will thrash out the terms of the agreement in a meeting in Washington DC on Friday. Trump said so during his first cabinet meeting - during which he also hinted at a possible Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, suggesting Russian President Vladimir Putin would need to make "concessions" for that to happen.

It's a busy end to the week for the US president, who's also hosting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer - tomorrow - for talks where Ukraine is at the top of the agenda.

We'll be back tomorrow to cover that meeting live, as well as developments from on the ground in Ukraine, but for now we're ending our live coverage there. In the meantime, there's lots for you to read across the BBC News website:

• Zelensky to meet Trump in Washington to sign minerals deal
• What we know about US-Ukraine minerals deal

• Starmer cuts aid to fund increase in defence spending

In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirms that Kyiv is "preparing for negotiations as early as this Friday" with the US, in reference to the bilateral minerals deal we've been reporting on for the majority of the day.

"Guarantees of peace and security - this is the key to ensuring that Russia will no longer be destroying the lives of other nations," he says, adding:

"I will meet President Trump.

"For me and for all of us in the world, it is crucial that America’s assistance is not stopped. Strength is needed on the path to peace."

Image source, Reuters

A little earlier we reported on the next steps Kyiv had said it would take to get the minerals deal with the US over the line - the first being a meeting of the government to back it.

The Ukrainian government has now given the green light for the country's official delegation to sign a bilateral minerals deal with the US in Washington later this week.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Dmytro Shmyhal made the announcement at Wednesday's cabinet meeting in Kyiv, after his ministers analysed the text of the draft deal.

President Zelensky is due to lead the Ukrainian delegation heading to DC, with his American counterpart Donald Trump praising it as an opportunity for Zelenesky to sign a "very big agreement".

Abdujalil Abdurasulov
Reporting from Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that security guarantees are essential to sign a minerals deal with the US.

One phrase in the revised document saying “US will support Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees” is unlikely to satisfy Kyiv.

But that’s why they call it a framework agreement, a document, which outlines general principles. All details will be agreed in other deals.

Most importantly, Zelensky says, the deal has no provisions on “debt” - referring to US President Donald Trump’s demand to gain access to mineral resources as a “payback” for previous assistance to Ukraine.

Also, the US and Ukraine will jointly run a fund that will control revenues from natural resources, it will not be fully owned by the American side as previous drafts suggested.

How much has the US spent on Ukraine?published at 18:22 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February

18:22 GMT 26 February

By Nick Eardley

President Donald Trump told his cabinet meeting today that the US has spent three times as much as Europe on Ukraine. But we can’t find any evidence to back that up.

Data suggests the US has spent a lot less than the $300bn-$350bn (£236bn-$276bn) that Trump has frequently said the US has spent.

The Kiel Institute, which tracks defence spending, has put the figure at $119.7bn. The US Department of Defense has also done a calculation, which looks at a broader range of activity in Europe and includes replenishing defence stocks.

Their figure is $182.8bn - still considerably less than the figure the president has mentioned. We asked the White House where their figure had come from, but we haven’t had an answer.

Europe, according to Kiel figures, has actually spent more on Ukraine than the US. They calculate EU institutions and all European countries combined have spent around $138.7bn.

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump's just finished addressing reporters at his first cabinet meeting of his second presidency.

Our colleagues in Washington DC are covering his comments, in full, on a separate US politics live page - but here's an overview of what he had to say on Ukraine:

• "A very big agreement" will be signed when Volodymyr Zelensky visits the White House on Friday, Trump said - referring to the Ukraine-US minerals deal
• Trump hailed the deal as an opportunity for the US to get America's "money back", following the country's support for Ukraine during Russia's three-year full-scale invasion, and said it would make the US "a lot of money in the future"
• He didn't mention Ukrainian security guarantees, which we've heard today from Ukrainian President Zelensky are yet to be included in the deal, but Trump suggested the US having access to the minerals would amount to "automatic security" for Ukraine
• Zelensky earlier repeated his desire to "find a Nato path or something similar" for Ukraine, but Trump's just been quoted by the AFP news agency as saying "you can forget about that" and suggesting this is "probably the reason the whole thing [the war] started"
• The US president also appeared to suggest a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia was not far off, telling reporters: "We're going to make a deal with Russia and Ukraine to stop killing people"
• For such an agreement to be reached, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin - who he called a "very smart guy" - will have to make "concessions"

We've one final Ukraine update to bring you from Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting.

Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will have to make any "concessions" in a deal to end the war in Ukraine, the US president says "yeah, he will".

Trump hails Putin as being "a very smart guy", describing the Russian leader as "cunning", before making a claim he's made before - that the Russian leader had no intention of settling the war until Trump was re-elected to the White House.

"If I didn't get elected he would have continued to have gone through Ukraine," Trump says. "A lot of people would have been killed ... I want to see it come to an end."

He's also quoted by the AFP news agency as saying "you can forget about that" when asked about Ukraine's desire to join Nato. "I think that's probably the reason the whole thing started," he reportedly says.

• For context: Russia has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine becoming a member of Nato, fearing it would bring Nato forces too close to its borders. However, in 2008, the alliance said that Ukraine could eventually join. Zelensky wants his country to become a member.

Image source, Reuters

Trump says the minerals deal "is a great deal for Ukraine too because they get us over there, we are going to be working over there".

"We will be on the land and that way there is going to be automatic security because nobody is going to be messing around with our people when we are there," he says.

Trump was responding to a reporter who asked what kind of security guarantees he is willing to make as part of his mineral deal with Ukraine.

In his reply, he also says that he is "not going to make security guarantees beyond... very much".

"We're going to have Europe do that, because it's in... you know, we're talking about Europe is their next door neighbour," he says.

The US president then outlines two main reasons for his interest in the deal - to "stop the killing" and for the US "to get money back plus a lot more", referencing Ukraine's wealth in rare earth minerals.

The PA news agency is reporting that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be visiting the UK this weekend.

We know that Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be hosting a number of European leaders for a defence summit on Sunday, following his talks with Trump on Thursday.

Moments ago, we heard Donald Trump confirm that Zelensky will be at the White House on Friday.

Trump suggests that the US had been put in a "very bad position" by the previous administration.

"But we've been able to make a deal where we're going to get our money back and we're going to get a lot of money in the future," he says.

Trump says that American taxpayers shouldn't be paying the bill for Ukraine "at more than the Europeans are paying".

The US president also suggests a ceasefire deal is close, saying: "We're going to make a deal with Russia and Ukraine to stop killing people."

Trump calls this a "very important thing and a big accomplishment" and tells reporters in the room that his team will keep them advised on progress.

If you'd like to watch Donald Trump's comments live, our colleagues in Washington DC are running a separate US politics live page - press watch live at the top of that page to catch the livestream of this cabinet meeting.

Donald Trump has confirmed the timing for his meeting with Zelensky in the opening remarks of his first cabinet meeting.

He said that he and Zelensky are "going to be signing an agreement, which will be a very big agreement."

Trump also said that "we're doing very well with Russia" and praised his team for doing "an amazing job" on that front.

US President Donald Trump has just confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday.

A minerals deal that's been negotiated under pressure from Trump's administrationpublished at 16:35 Greenwich Mean Time 26 February

16:35 GMT 26 February

Danny Aeberhard
BBC World Service's Europe editor

Image source, Getty Images

Much remains unclear about what the mineral deal actually involves, and where it might lead.

It was concluded at speed, under great pressure from the Trump administration.

Both sides talk about President Zelensky potentially heading to Washington to sign it.

But the issue of security guarantees remains unresolved. That really matters for Ukraine.

Zelensky wants talks with Donald Trump, before any potential meeting between the US and Russian presidents.

But he says he'll ask direct questions as to whether America would continue supporting Ukraine or not.

If he's not reassured by the answers - and has nothing in writing - it's not clear whether he'd sign the deal.

And if he might not sign, could the whole idea of a Washington trip collapse?

Ukrainian officials - including President Volodymyr Zelensky - say the framework of their minerals deal with the US is agreed, but they also say it's only the first step in both sides showing a political will to work together.

Further negotiations still need to be held to conclude a wider - and binding - agreement, they add.

As we've been reporting, the current draft has no reference to any Ukrainian debt for the US aid provided to Kyiv during three years of Russia's full-scale invasion - US President Donald Trump had previously demanded a right to $500bn ($395bn) in potential revenues from using Ukraine's natural resources.

It also gives no firm security guarantees to Ukraine - a key demand by Kyiv.

Issues like these are expected to be ironed out in the next few days, and here's a rough timeline outlined by Ukraine:

• Ukraine's government is meeting later today to review the preliminary deal
• A Ukrainian delegation - led by Zelensky - are then due to fly to Washington on Friday for talks with Trump and other US officials
• If the minerals deal is signed, the two sides will then "immediately" start further negotiations on what's being called a Fund Agreement - essentially figuring out which side gets what

Ian Aikman
Live reporter

Broadly, the deal - if and when finalised - would share Ukraine's mineral wealth with the US, in exchange for past US aid, and - possibly - future security guarantees. What else do we know?

What are the terms?

Key details have not been made public. But on Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the deal envisages an "investment fund" for Ukraine's reconstruction.

Kyiv and Washington would manage the fund on "equal terms", the prime minister said.

Does the deal include a security guarantee?

Zelensky has been pushing for security guarantees from the US, to deter future Russian aggression.

On Wednesday, he revealed no guarantees had been made. "I wanted to have a sentence on security guarantees for Ukraine, and it's important that it's there," he said.

When will the deal be signed?

Shmyhal said the US and Ukraine have prepared a final version of the agreement, which Ukraine's government will authorise on Wednesday.

Trump has said he expects Zelensky to sign the deal on a visit to Washington on Friday.

• Read Ian's in-depth explainer here

Image source, Reuters

Since news broke last night that Ukraine and the US had agreed the terms of their minerals deal, we've been keeping track of how events are unfolding. Here's what we know so far:

• A deal hasn’t been formally signed off, but this morning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed one had been agreed, and will see Ukraine share some of its mineral wealth with the US
• After radio silence initially, Zelensky said the agreement "can be a big success" - but will depend on conversations with President Trump, at which the Ukrainian leader will insist there must be security guarantees for his country
• Without such guarantees, the Ukrainian government will not sign the minerals deal, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shymal has said - our correspondent James Waterhouse has more
• Zelensky hasn’t given a timeline on when the deal may be signed, but Trump told reporters yesterday that he had "heard" Zelensky may fly to Washington on Friday so the pair can sign the deal together
• Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has called the possible deployment of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine a "deceit" - as Ukraine claimed Russian bombs had killed five in Donetsk

Commenting on the minerals deal during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stresses that the main issue for him is the continuation of US aid to Ukraine.

He says that a preliminary minerals deal "is just a start, a framework, it can be a big success".

"The success will depend on our conversation with President Trump," Zelensky says.

He adds that he will be pushing for security guarantees for Ukraine tied to any future - wider - bilateral agreements.

The US has been a key military aid provider to Ukraine under the Biden presidency, but US President Donald Trump has suggested a revision of the assistance they provide.

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Image source, Reuters

President Zelensky says he hopes an initial mineral agreement with the US “will lead to further deals”, but confirmed no American security guarantees have been agreed yet. The deal was referred to as more of a “framework”.

He refers to a jointly owned fund where 50% of Ukraine’s natural resource revenues would be contributed, but adds that it was “too early to talk about money”.

He also says his team pressed the Americans to include a line about support for security guarantees, although nothing concrete has been decided yet.

“I wanted to have a sentence on security guarantees for Ukraine, and it’s important that it’s there,” he adds.

On Donald Trump’s previous demands that Ukraine repay the billions of dollars’ worth of military aid the US had supplied to date, Zelensky says the deal wouldn’t see Ukraine “repay 10 cents”.

Ukraine’s leader says that if he visits the White House on Friday, he will be “very direct” by asking whether America will continue supporting Ukraine or not.

The BBC asked Zelensky whether he’d walk away from the agreement if Trump did not offer the security guarantees he wanted, to which he replied, “I want to find a Nato path or something similar,” adding: "If we don’t get security guarantees, we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing."

A bit more now from Ukrainian Prime Minister Dennys Shmyhal's comments earlier today.

Speaking on Ukrainian TV, the PM said his country's contribution to the investment fund would be 50% of future revenues from "monetisation of all the natural resources assets".

"The US will also be making corresponding contributions", he said, adding that the funds would be then re-invested in Ukraine's development, reconstruction and safety.

US officials are yet to publicly comment on the issue.