Wounded Bayern and Dortmund look for answers in untimely Klassiker

BERLIN (AP) — The Champions League is not doing Der Klassiker any favors.

Bayern Munich hosts Borussia Dortmund on Saturday for what has traditionally been one of the Bundesliga’s showpiece games of the season, but both rivals are smarting after chastening Champions League defeats and preoccupied by how they might continue in Europe’s premier competition.

Bayern, in particular, will be focused on its second leg quarterfinal at Inter Milan on Wednesday, when it will need to overturn a one-goal deficit after conceding late in the first leg. Munich hosts the Champions League final in May.

Dortmund was outclassed by Barcelona 4-0 in their quarterfinal first leg and bracing for another demonstration when the Spanish giant visits for the second leg on Tuesday.

In recent seasons, Der Klassiker has been key to deciding the league title. But Bayern’s main rival in the last couple of years has been Bayer Leverkusen – currently six points behind the Bavarian powerhouse with six games remaining.

Dortmund is languishing in eighth place after a humbling season, though it still harbors hopes of finishing in the top four to qualify for the lucrative Champions League.

A win against Bayern in Munich would boost those hopes and help Leverkusen keep alive its dwindling chances of defending its title.

A look at what else is happening in the Bundesliga this weekend:

— While Bayern and Dortmund hog attention in the evening, Leverkusen will be hoping to pressure Bayern with a win over visiting Union Berlin earlier. But Union has won its last two games and is unbeaten in four.

— Wolfsburg hosts Leipzig on Friday with the visitor looking for another win to provisionally move into the top four, pressuring Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz and Borussia Mönchengladbach, its rivals for European qualification.

— Holstein Kiel hosts St. Pauli in a relegation battle on Saturday. Kiel (18 points) gained a valuable point against Mainz last weekend and can climb off the bottom with a win, depending on how Bochum (20) fares against Augsburg. Heidenheim (22) visits Frankfurt on Sunday.

— Bayern’s Harry Kane had a bad miss in the 2-1 loss to Inter on Tuesday and will be keen to warm up for the trip to Italy by adding to his 23 league goals.

— Ermedin Demirović hit a hat trick for Stuttgart against Bochum last weekend and can add to his 13 goals in a key game against visiting Werder Bremen on Saturday. Bremen and Stuttgart still have chances of European qualification.

— “We have to defend more and better than today. Because we’ll also have problems in Munich without a defense.” — Dortmund coach Niko Kovać after his team’s 4-0 loss in Barcelona.

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Dortmund's Emre Can, center, and his teammates react at the end of the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Dortmund's Julian Brandt reacts at the end of the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Dortmund's Ramy Bensebaini reacts at the end of the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Inter's Lautaro Martinez, center, and Nicolo Barella, right, celebrate after the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)

Munich's Harry Kane, right, and Inter's Francesco Acerbi fight for the ball during the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

Bayern's Harry Kane reacts after missing a chance to score during the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — After months of tense negotiations, the U.S. and Ukraine signed a deal that is expected to give Washington access to the country’s critical minerals and other natural resources, an agreement Kyiv hopes will secure long-term support for its defense against Russia.

According to Ukrainian officials, the version of the deal signed Wednesday is far more beneficial to Ukraine than previous versions, which they said reduced Kyiv to a junior partner and gave Washington unprecedented rights to the country's resources.

The agreement — which the Ukrainian parliament must ratify — would establish a reconstruction fund for Ukraine that Ukrainian officials hope will be a vehicle to ensure future American military assistance. A previous agreement was nearly signed before being derailed in a tense Oval Office meeting involving U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We have formed a version of the agreement that provides mutually beneficial conditions for both countries. This is an agreement in which the United States notes its commitment to promoting long-term peace in Ukraine and recognizes the contribution that Ukraine has made to global security by giving up its nuclear arsenal,” Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who signed the deal for Ukraine, said in a post on Facebook.

The signing comes during what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said would be a “very critical” week for U.S.-led efforts to end the war that appear to have stalled. Ukraine sees the deal as a way to ensure that its biggest and most consequential ally stays engaged and doesn’t freeze military support, which has been key in its 3-year-old fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“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, who signed for the U.S., said in a statement.

Here is a look at the deal.

The deal covers minerals, including rare earth elements, but also other valuable resources, including oil and natural gas, according to the text released by Ukraine's government.

It does not include resources that are already a source of revenue for the Ukrainian state. In other words, any profits under the deal are dependent on the success of new investments. Ukrainian officials have also noted that it does not refer to any debt obligations for Kyiv, meaning profits from the fund will likely not go toward the paying the U.S. back for its previous support.

Officials have also emphasized that the agreement ensures full ownership of the resources remains with Ukraine, and the state will determine what can be extracted and where.

The text of the deal lists 55 minerals but says more can be agreed to.

Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in Ukraine's rare earth elements, and some of them are included in the list, as are other critical minerals, such as titanium, lithium and uranium.

They are a group of 17 elements that are essential to many kinds of consumer technology, including cellphones, hard drives and electric and hybrid vehicles.

China is the world’s largest producer of rare earth elements, and both the U.S and Europe have sought to reduce their dependence on Beijing, Trump’s chief geopolitical adversary.

They include elements such as lanthanum, cerium and scandium, which are listed in the deal.

The agreement establishes a reconstruction investment fund, and both the U.S. and Ukraine will have an equal say in its management, according to Svyrydenko.

The fund will be supported by the U.S. government through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation agency, which Ukraine hopes will attract investment and technology from American and European countries.

Ukraine is expected to contribute 50% of all future profits from government-owned natural resources into the fund. The United States will also contribute in the form of direct funds and equipment, including badly needed air defense systems and other military aid.

Contributions to the fund will be reinvested in projects related to mining, oil and gas as well as infrastructure.

No profits will not be taken from the fund for the first 10 years, Svyrydenko said.

Trump administration officials initially pushed for a deal in which Washington would receive $500 billion in profits from exploited minerals as compensation for its wartime support.

But Zelenskyy rejected the offer, saying he would not sign off on an agreement “that will be paid off by 10 generations of Ukrainians.”

Ukraine’s rare earth elements are largely untapped because of state policies regulating the industry, a lack of good information about deposits, and the war.

The industry’s potential is unclear since geological data is thin because mineral reserves are scattered across Ukraine, and existing studies are considered largely inadequate, according to businessmen and analysts.

In general, however, the outlook for Ukrainian natural resources is promising. The country's reserves of titanium, a key component for the aerospace, medical and automotive industries, are believed to be among Europe’s largest. Ukraine also holds some of Europe’s largest known reserves of lithium, which is required to produce batteries, ceramics and glass.

In 2021, the Ukrainian mineral industry accounted for 6.1% of the country’s gross domestic product and 30% of exports.

An estimated 40% of Ukraine's metallic mineral resources are inaccessible because of Russian occupation, according to data from We Build Ukraine, a Kyiv-based think tank. Ukraine has argued that it's in Trump’s interest to develop the remainder before Russian advances capture more.

FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov, File)

President Donald Trump welcomes Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)