内容摘要：The Ukrainian parliament’s ratification of the minerals deal marked a key step

The Ukrainian parliament’s ratification of the minerals deal marked a key step

Rescue workers clear the rubble of a house damaged by a Russian strike on a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)In March, the Trump administration

with Ukraine in a bid to force Zelenskyy to accept a truce with Russia. The about weeklong suspension impacted Ukraine’s ability to track and target Russian troops, tanks and ships.There are certain capabilities, including “higher-end” surveillance and reconnaissance using satellites that “only the United States can provide,” said Matthew Kroenig, vice president of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security in Washington.While the extent of intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Ukraine is not known, experts said it likely shows Kyiv near real-time buildup of Russian troop deployments and helps target long-range strikes.

Ukraine’s allies do not have as much satellite capability as the U.S. but could launch more, or Ukraine could use commercial systems if Trump cuts off intelligence again, experts said. The latter would likely have to come from a European provider — in March, the American satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies confirmed itfollowing the administration’s decision to pull intelligence sharing.

Ukraine also needs an alternative to Elon Musk’s satellite network Starlink, which is critical for Ukrainian defensive and civilian communications. European defense companies are discussing creating a satellite alliance but don’t currently have an alternative on the same scale.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers journalists’ questions near a house destroyed by Thursday’s Russian strike on a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)while providing Kyiv a measure of assurance about continued American support in its grinding war with Russia.

“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,” Treasury Secretary 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 announcement comes at a critical moment in the three-year war as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with both sides. The signing comes two months after a different but similar agreement was nearly signed before being derailed in a

involving President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Trump has long criticized Zelenskyy, saying he didn’t “have the cards” to win the war and blaming him for