This article was reprinted with permission after being published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Since Russia launched its comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it may have taken control of some of its prized lithium reserves, potentially denying Kyiv access to a , a crucial financial tool.
In the southeast of Zaporizhzhya, Russian forces in early 2022, they discovered a potassium loan. Since therefore, Moscow has taken control of lithium-related place in the nearby Donetsk area.
Then, Russian forces are inching toward Shevchenko, a remote lawsuit in Donetsk that sits near one of Ukraine’s biggest lithium reserves.
Experts say Russia’s arrest of Ukraine’s lithium deposits may affect the rest of Europe and the Country’s efforts to move to clean energy.
Lithium is a crucial materials for batteries used in everything from smartphones to laptops to electric cars, and it is referred to as” light gold.”
Ukraine has an estimated 500, 000 plenty of undiscovered sodium, one of the largest resources in Europe, according to geographical research.
Rod Schoonover, a national security analyst and chairman of the U. S. based Ecological Futures Group, said it is doubtful that seizing Ukraine’s sodium debris was a big war aim for Moscow. Russia itself has important resources.
However, Ukraine’s material prosperity is one reason the nation is crucial to Russia, experts say.
Important metals like copper and lithium as well as uncommon earth metals are found on the ancient and large rough plate known as the Ukrainian Shield, which extends far across central and southern Ukraine.
” Value Will Just Grow,”
The European Union has attempted to reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers, including China, by ensuring regional supplies of crucial raw materials like sodium.
Europe’s efforts to transition to alternative energy and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels are crucial to using potassium.
With its large reserves and vicinity, Ukraine stands out as a tempting companion, Schoonover said.
” The Russian war has disrupted any headway toward leveraging Ukraine’s resources, but if balance is restored, these sources could be, in time, a basis of Europe’s strategic independence in critical minerals”, he said.
