It comes nearly three months after an

Meanwhile, a Russian drone strike on the Black Sea port city of Odesa early Thursday killed two people and injured 15 others, Ukrainian emergency services said.Regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said the barrage struck apartment buildings, private homes, a supermarket and a school.

Videos shared by Kiper on Telegram showed a high-rise building with a severely damaged facade, a shattered storefront and firefighters battling flames.A drone struck and ignited a fire at a petrol station in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.Following the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had ignored a U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire for more than 50 days now.

“There were also our proposals — at the very least, to refrain from striking civilian infrastructure and to establish lasting silence in the sky, at sea, and on land,” he said. “Russia has responded to all this with new shelling and new assaults.”The U.S. and Ukraine on Wednesday

granting American access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, finalizing a deal months in the making that could enable continued military aid to Kyiv amid concerns that President Donald Trump might scale back support in ongoing peace negotiations with Russia.

Zelenskyy originally proposed such a deal last year as a way of helping secure Ukraine’s future by tying it to U.S. interests. Ukrainian officials said, “hundreds” of revisions, and finally, a chance meeting

Despite last-minute snags, Ukraine secured a deal that’s set to bring closer ties with the U.S. and provide a vehicle for future military assistance.  Ukraine’s parliament voted unanimously to ratify the agreement on Thursday, and other documents pertaining to the deal are being finalized.“It seems to me that this is the first time in history that the United States considers Ukraine as a long-term strategic partner, economically,” Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko told a media briefing in Kyiv on Thursday ahead of the parliament vote.

Here’s a timeline of the deal’s conception and signing:In response to rising pressure from Western allies and clear battlefield disadvantages, Zelenskyy outlined a so-called