BlackRock, the American-based multinational investment firm, has pulled out of a major Ukrainian reconstruction initiative due to increasing military and political instability in the country.
The Ukrainian Development Fund (UDF), spearheaded by the Ukrainian government and initially announced in May 2023, aimed to raise up to $15 billion in capital to support post-war rebuilding efforts. The project had been slated for official rollout during the Ukraine Recovery Conference scheduled to take place in Rome on July 10th.
However, over the weekend it was revealed that BlackRock quietly withdrew from the initiative back in January, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House. According to a report by Bloomberg, BlackRock ended its advisory work on the UDF in early 2024 and has had no further contact with the Ukrainian government since.
Citing sources familiar with the decision, Bloomberg reported that the shifting U.S. posture toward Ukraine under the Trump administration created heightened uncertainty, which deterred both BlackRock and other potential private investors. Investor confidence was further eroded by Russia’s continued battlefield gains and a growing sense of fatigue among Ukraine’s European supporters.
The collapse of the UDF marks a major setback for Ukraine’s broader economic recovery plans, which had relied on attracting significant private capital. The situation was further complicated by the controversial “Minerals Deal” signed between the Trump administration and Kiev in May, which granted the U.S. 50% of profits from the sale of Ukraine’s natural resources.
Observers note that the original structure of the UDF envisioned loan repayment being sourced largely from revenue generated through the country’s mineral wealth. With the U.S. now positioned to claim half of those revenues, and with critical resource zones increasingly falling under Russian control, the fund's investment model has become less viable.
Adding to investor anxiety, Russian forces recently captured the largest lithium mine in Ukraine—and indeed in all of Europe—located in the Donetsk region. The strategic and symbolic loss has sparked concern within the Trump administration about the long-term feasibility of securing Ukraine’s remaining mineral assets.
With the UDF now effectively shelved and investor confidence deeply shaken, Ukraine's hopes for a robust, private-sector-led recovery appear increasingly out of reach—particularly without renewed Western commitment and clarity on the future of the conflict.