Ukraine and the United States have signed a long-awaited "reconstruction investment" agreement allowing US access to Ukrainian natural resources, the US Treasury Department has announced. DW has more.Ukraine and the United States have signed an economic partnership that the US said "positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to ensure that our mutual assets, talents, and capabilities can accelerate Ukraine's economic recovery." Kyiv and Washington planned to sign the agreement weeks ago, but a clash between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the White House disrupted the talks. This is a blog on developments from Russia's war in Ukraine on Wednesday, April 30. Deal contributes to Ukrainian security, economy minister says Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko she the agreement would allow both countries to expand their economic potential and also contribute to Ukraine's security. "Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country," she wrote on X. "Its implementation allows both countries to expand their economic potential through equal cooperation and investment," wrote Svyrydenko, who also serves as the economy minister. "The United States will contribute to the fund. In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide NEW assistance — for example air defense systems for Ukraine." Ukraine and United States sign long-awaited minerals deal US and Ukrainian officials have signed a deal in Washington over access to Ukrainian natural resources, the US Treasury Department announced. Officials agreed to establish a US-Ukraine reconstruction investment fund, the Treasury said. "This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term," US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. "President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine." The agreement will give the United States access to investment projects to develop Ukrainian gas, mineral and other natural resources. EU has 'plan B' on Russia sanctions, top diplomat says The European Union has a "plan B" regarding keeping economic pressure on Russia in case the US reaches a deal with Moscowalone, the bloc's top foreign policy diplomat said. "We see signs that they are contemplating whether they should leave Ukraine and not try to get a deal with the Russians because it's hard," Kaja Kallas told the UK's Financial Times newspaper. "There is also a plan B, but we have to work for Plan A," Kallas said. She added that the EU is in conversation with the US and other international partners to make sure the sanctions on Russia remain in place. Ukrainian soldiers still in Kursk, Putin says Small groups of Ukrainian soldiers were still hiding in basements and hideouts in Russia's Kursk region, which was retaken by the country's army, Russian President Vladimir Putin says. According to Putin, radio intercepts suggested that some Ukrainian soldiers had been left behind and were asking for evacuation. Ukrainehas also said that some of its troops are still inside the Russian regions of Kursk and Belgorod. Kremlin says Putin is open to Ukraine peace, but warns against haste for deal President Vladimir Putin is open to peace in Ukraine and intensive work is going on with the United States, but the conflict is so complicated that the rapid progress Washington wants will be difficult to achieve, the Kremlin said. "We understand that Washington is willing to achieve a quick success in this process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, but added that the causes of the war in Ukraine were too complex to be resolved in one day. He also noted that Putin had expressed a willingness for direct talks with Ukraine, but that there had been no answer from Kyiv yet. Following the Kremlin's comment, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine was ready for peace talks in any format if Moscow agreed to an unconditional ceasefire. Signs of torture reveal dead Ukrainian journalist's ordeal in Russian captivity Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna was tortured before her death in Russian captivity, said the report by media outlets including The Washington Post, The Guardian, Ukrainska Pravda and iStories, citing Ukrainian prosecutors. In February, Russia returned Roshchyna's emaciated body. Her organs had apparently been removed in what may have been an attempt to cover up the cause of her death. The forensic examination "revealed numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment", the prosecutors were quoted as saying. These included "a broken rib, neck injuries, and possible electric shock marks on her feet," according to Yuriy Belousov, head of the War Crimes Unit at the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office. The eyeballs, brain and part of her larynx were missing. Ukrainian authorities suspect that Roshchyna was strangled. Roshchyna had traveled from Kyiv to Russia via Poland and the Baltic states in July 2023, and from there to the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. According to the journalists' research, she was detained there at the end of August. She was scheduled to be released in September 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange, but was taken off the list at the last moment. A month later, Russian prison authorities informed her relatives that Roshchyna had died. Her body was released in February as the remains of an allegedly unknown man. Identification was only possible through DNA testing. Ukraine is ready to sign minerals deal with US Ukraine and the US could sign a minerals deal within the next 24 hours after the final details are worked out, according to Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. The revised agreement has become a "real partnership deal" that could consider future US aid as part of contributions to the fund, he said in televised remarks. Earlier, senior Ukrainian officials told the AP, AFP and Reuters news agencies that Ukraine expects to sign a long-awaited mineral deal with the United States on Wednesday. Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is currently in Washington to finalize technical details of the agreement, the sources said. It wasn't immediately clear, however, whether the Trump administration was also ready to finalize the deal. The Ukrainian cabinet is expected to approve the text of the agreement before the Washington meeting, after which it will be signed by an authorized government representative. The agreement will then have to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament before it can take effect. Ukrainian officials hope that the signing of the deal, which has been pushed by US President Donald Trump, will help cement softening American support for Kyiv in the war triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Kyiv and Washington planned to sign the agreement weeks ago, but a clash between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House disrupted the talks. Welcome to our coverage Welcome to DW's coverage of developments from Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday, April 29. Ukraine expects to sign a long-anticipated minerals deal with the United States on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin is open to peace in Ukraine, but the conflict is so complicated that the rapid progress Washington wants will be difficult to achieve. In this blog, we will keep you updated as the day unfolds.