A copy of the agreement obtained by The New York Times says that the United States “supports Ukraine’s effort to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.”

But Ukraine appears to have steered away from America’s first brazen, extractive demands into something that is closer to a joint investment venture. The deal looks to be a good way short of the $500bn “payback” that Mr Trump had demanded from Ukraine,

President Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined a natural resources deal between Ukraine and the United States, but stressed that the deal is a “framework” for future agreements and that a lot rests on talks with US President Donald Trump expected later this week.