Donald Trump's administration has finally agreed that Russia’s war on Ukraine was a “full-scale” invasion. Leaked documents outlining a new minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv suggest the US President walked back his previous claim that Ukraine was the aggressor.

The paper stated: “The United States of America has provided significant financial and material support to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion.” The change in language marks a significant diplomatic shift and will be seen as a notable win for Kyiv. Until now, the Trump administration had referred to the war only as the “Russia-Ukraine conflict” and consistently avoided assigning blame to Moscow. But critics of the controversial mineral deal argue the agreement exposes Kyiv as Russia’s three-year war grinds on.

The agreement does not secure military support but is tied to the states' long-term investment in rare earth mineral reserves.

However, it did not stop the White House from boasting about the deal.

Karoline Leavitt, the president's press secretary, said on Thursday: "We saw yet again why President Trump is our dealmaker-in-chief, we secured a historic agreement to establish the US-Ukraine reconstruction investment fund.

"This is the first of its kind economic partnership for the reconstruction and long-term economic success of Ukraine that both will greatly benefit from."

She said the US was securing a "free, peaceful and sovereign future for Ukraine" through the deal.

The agreement, though, could pave the way for future US military aid.

It states that Washington’s “capital contribution will be deemed to be increased by the estimated value of such military assistance,” explicitly including “the transfer of weapons systems, ammunition, technology or training.”

By limiting the agreement to new support only, the deal marks a significant win for Kyiv.

The agreement, signed weeks after Volodymyr Zelensky was bullied out of the White House, comes after Trump met with the Ukrainian President at the Pope’s funeral.

Notably absent from the agreement, though, are any US security guarantees or language referencing Ukraine’s NATO aspirations.

Trump had insisted Kyiv compensate the States for aid delivered under the Biden administration since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

He demanded $500 billion in repayment - more than four times the $120 billion the US has actually provided, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute.

Zelensky rejected the initial demand, saying: “I would not sign an accord that ten generations of Ukrainians would have to pay off.”

Instead, he has now accepted a minerals-based investment agreement that offers US companies access to Ukraine’s vast untapped natural resources.

The agreement also creates a “Reconstruction Investment Fund,” with both countries having equal voting rights.

“Ukraine will have full control over its subsoil, infrastructure and natural resources,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said.

He added that the fund’s profits will be reinvested in Ukraine for the first decade, after which proceeds may be shared between the two nations.

Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko emphasised: “The transfer and development of technologies is an important component of the agreement, because we need not only investments, but also innovations.” She added the deal would not affect Ukraine’s push to join the European Union.

Ukraine holds an estimated five per cent of the world’s rare earth and mineral resources, including around 20 per cent of global graphite reserves - a key component in electric vehicle batteries.

It is also a major source of titanium and manganese and is believed to contain one of Europe’s largest lithium deposits.