Kiev had already marked his willingness to give western countries access to rare earths in Ukraine. This is one of the points of Volodimir Zelenski’s “Victory Plan”, which presented in September 2024, including in the US, when it was not yet clear who would move to the White House as President in 2025. The Ukrainian President had spoken Then with Donald Trump. Zelenski has promised all countries that support Kiev “returning their investments”, citing the country’s natural resources, including “extremely important trillion -m in the dollars”.

Necessary in modern industry

Rare land is essential for the manufacture of many modern devices, including smartphones and electric vehicles, as well as other high -tech products. They are also essential in the production of defense products and in the aerospace industry.

China is currently controlling the lion’s portion of the production of industrially used rare land metals worldwide. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, this share covers about 40% of the European Union’s demand for these resources, for example. Other major suppliers are Australia, South Africa, Canada and Brazil.

In order to reduce Beijing dependence, the EU and the US have been working for years to expand and increase the production of important raw materials in other countries around the world. These include in particular the celestial, titanium, lithium, graphite, nickel and aluminum. According to a study by the NATO energy security center, the market for critical raw materials has doubled in the last five years, reaching $ 320 billion. It is projected to double again in five years.

Huge possibilities for critical raw materials

As NATO experts note, Ukraine has the potential to become a basic supplier of many critical raw materials, such as titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluoritis and nickel, which could In the differentiation of “many, if not all” of global supply chains.

For example, Ukraine’s titanium ore deposits are considered to be the largest in Europe. They represent seven percent of global resources. In addition, Ukraine is one of the few countries where he is mined, which is particularly essential in the aerospace industry, medicine, automaker and shipbuilding. According to NATO’s study, Ukraine was one of the most important titanium suppliers in the defense industry before Russia’s full -scale invasion.

Ukraine also hosts some of the largest confirmed lithium deposits in Europe, totaling about 500,000 tonnes. The raw material is urgently necessary for the production of batteries, ceramics and glass. Ukraine is also the fifth largest French producer in the world, which is important for the production of semiconductors and LEDs. It is also an important Neon supplier for the production of chips in the US. Gas is essential for the production of semiconductors.

A report published on the website of the World Economic Forum in the summer of 2024 reports that the European Commission has identified Ukraine as a potential source of more than 20 critical raw materials. Ukraine’s accession to the EU could enhance the stability of the EU industry, the report said.

Ukraine and EU strategy

Kiev is aware of Ukraine’s potential as a worldwide supplier of important raw materials for industry. “We have significant reserves of uranium, titanium, lithium, graphite and beryllium, we have a strategically advantageous position within the EU, developed logistical infrastructure and a high level of know -how in exploration and development of deposits,” the former Minister of Infrastructure and Co -Founder ” Build Ukraine ”, Olxandr Kubrakov, at a conference in Kiev in late January, which was dedicated to strategic raw materials.

However, critics point out that the optimal extraction of critical raw materials requires government coordination, a stable regulatory framework, a tax policy accepted by the economy and, ultimately, investments. It is not yet clear whether the US will be able to launch structural changes once they have gained control of certain critical raw materials in Ukraine.

Deposits occupied by Russia

However, the biggest obstacle to the exploitation of critical raw materials in Ukraine is still Russia’s aggressive war. There is no accurate information on how many rare -earth metal deposits are under Russian control and how much are dangerous near the battle zone.

Ukrainian experts suspect, as they told DW, that Russia could seek to control at least two more lithium deposits in the Ukrainian areas of Zaporizia and Donetsk. At present, only two of the four known deposits in the country are still under Ukrainian control.

Curated by: Costas Argyros