Le Figaro: Russia Crossed Trump's Path In Ukraine

The Russians have seized a large lithium deposit that the U.S. president was counting on.

Russian troops have captured one of the most promising lithium deposits in Ukraine, located near the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk Region. The Russian Defense Ministry reported the capture of the settlement the previous day, June 26, and the OSINT project DeepState, associated with the Ukrainian military, actually confirmed it on its map, according to Le Figaro.

The Shevchenko deposit, discovered in 1982, covers about 40 hectares. According to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, it contains more than 90% of highly mineralized spodumene, from which lithium can be extracted without capital-intensive technologies. In addition, deposits of rare metals - tantalum, niobium, beryllium, cesium and rubidium - have also been discovered at the Shevchenkivsky site. This makes it a strategically important resource against the background of the global growth in demand for raw materials for the production of batteries and electronics, Le Figaro notes.

Before that, the Russian army seized the Krutaya Balka deposit in the Zaporizhzhya region. Thus, Russia currently controls two of Ukraine's four known lithium deposits. The remaining two - Dobra and Polokhovskoye - are located in Kirovograd region. At the same time, they contain petalite, which is much more expensive to extract lithium from than spodumene. Total lithium reserves in Ukraine within the 1991 boundaries are estimated at 500,000 tons. However, prior to the full-scale Russian invasion, none of the Ukrainian deposits had been developed on an industrial scale.

In late April, Ukraine and the United States signed a mineral deal that had been discussed since Donald Trump took office in January. The agreement envisions the creation of a US-Ukrainian investment fund, which will receive revenues from the development and sale of Ukrainian minerals. These funds are to be invested in new projects and Ukraine's reconstruction after the war.

In mid-June, the Ukrainian authorities agreed to start the process of allowing private companies to develop the Dobra lithium deposit in the Kirovohrad region. At the same time, as the New York Times wrote, one of the likely contenders for lithium mining is 81-year-old billionaire friend of US President Donald Trump and head of the World European Congress Ronald Lauder from the family of founders of the American cosmetics company Estee Lauder.

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