By Anastasiia @Adobe Stock
The war in Ukraine impacts the flow of global resources, as the country holds vast reserves of critical minerals essential for defense and technology, reports J.C. Ellis of War on the Rocks. To secure these resources and reduce reliance on China, the U.S. and Europe should invest in Ukraine’s mining sector and ensure its security, turning Ukraine into a key economic partner for the West. Ellis writes:
The war in Ukraine isn’t just about safeguarding democracy or demonstrating Western resolve — it’s also about the future of the global economic order. As the Trump administration considers how to deliver on the president’s promise to bring this war to a close, it risks neglecting a critical, untapped asset: Ukraine’s immense reserves of lithium, titanium, graphite, and rare earth metals. These critical minerals are the foundation of modern industry and essential for military technology, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. They also have the potential to transform Ukraine into an invaluable partner amid the global scramble for resources and geopolitical advantage.
American leaders tend to treat war as a military problem rather than a geopolitical one, fixating on tactical gains while neglecting the economic and strategic conditions necessary to win the peace. As a result, the United States has spent trillions on warfighting while failing to capitalize on postwar opportunities. Now, after committing over $175 billion to Ukraine’s defense, Washington risks making a similar mistake: walking away without ensuring that Ukraine’s economic potential strengthens the West rather than its adversaries.
Far from an agrarian backwater, Ukraine is one of the most resource-rich nations in the world, particularly in the critical raw materials central to 21st-century competition. […]
Due to Ukraine’s diverse geological footprint, it possesses around 5 percent of the world’s mineral deposits despite occupying just 0.4 percent of its land area. Its natural wealth is spread across approximately 20,000 mineral deposits, which include 117 of the 120 most widely used minerals and metals, 22 of the 50 strategic materials recognized by the United States as critical, and 25 of the 34 identified by the European Union as critically important. Estimations of the total value of these deposits range in the tens of trillions of dollars.
Among the most significant are its reserves of lithium, graphite, titanium-bearing minerals like ilmenite and rutile, uranium, and rare earth metals. According to the Ukrainian Geological Survey, Ukraine holds the largest lithium and titanium reserves in Europe and is among the top 12 in global reserves of uranium, which has the potential to help bridge yawning shortfalls in production requirements for nuclear energy. Researchers at the University of Kyiv estimate that Ukraine has the world’s sixth-largest graphite reserves, larger than all other Western states combined. Kyiv has also identified six large deposits of rare earth metals such as beryllium and gallium that are estimated to be the highest recoverable supply of rare earths in Europe. One of these rare earth deposits, located at Novopoltavske, is potentially the largest in the world. […]
Russia has been abetted in its theft by geography. A sizeable share of Ukraine’s mineral wealth is concentrated east of the Dnipro River. One estimate holds that Russia has captured 33 percent of Ukraine’s critical raw materials deposits since 2014. A back-of-the-envelope calculation puts the value of this at $5–$8 trillion. Among Kyiv’s stolen assets are over 10 major mineral sites, including one of the lithium sites eyed by European Lithium and the massive rare earth metals deposit at Novopoltavske. Including stolen fossil fuel deposits, the value of Russian conquests currently exceed $12 trillion. […]
Unlocking Ukraine’s massive untapped mineral wealth represents an opportunity to both secure Kyiv’s long-term economic prospects and insulate critical Western supply chains during a period of heightened geoeconomic and geopolitical tensions. Such an effort will require sustained engagement from Washington and its partners in Europe. It would also not be without risks or challenges. However, the new administration should carefully consider the opportunities presented and build a diplomatic and military strategy that allows the West to benefit from this providential natural endowment.
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