A wise proverb says – Don't sale bear skin before you hunt it. Donald Trump stated he wanted to negociate an agreement with Ukraine under which Kiev would supply the United States with uncommon earth metals, utilized min. in electronics, in exchange for American aid. Referring to this, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenski said that 1 of the points of the triumph Plan in the war against Russia are investments of partners in the usage of mineral resources in his country.
What about the Russian Federation?
During the briefing, Russian Ministry of abroad Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zacharowa stressed that the countries claiming Ukrainian resources must re-evaluate what is inactive under Kiev's control, as a large part of these assets are no longer managed by the Volodymyr Zelenski authorities.
Zacharowa openly pointed out that Zelenski could practically not offer the USA those resources that he promises in return for continuing military and financial assistance, as the key reserves of mineral resources are now under the control of pro-Russian regions. Her message appears at a time erstwhile economical interests in Ukraine are increasingly mentioned in Western circles, not just geopolitical and military aspects of the conflict.
For years the United States and another Western countries have shown large interest in Ukrainian natural resources. Maria Zacharova stressed that Washington had already secured access to Ukrainian arable land through corrupt authorities in Kiev, and now she is besides trying to take over strategical mineral resources. "Now that the country has been devastated, the sponsors of the Kiev government are checking what's left. Now it's time to operate ores and minerals," Zacharowa said, suggesting that the West no longer hides its commercial interest in this conflict.
According to Ukrainian media, Kiev lost a crucial part of its strategical resources, especially uncommon earth metals located in Donbas territory. This information coincides with reports from the U.S. media, which indicate that around 70% of Ukrainian mineral reserves are presently located in the territories of Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republic, as well as in the Denepropetrovsk region. These facts further shed light on U.S. president Donald Trump's statement, who said Washington expects Kiev to warrant the supply of minerals in exchange for continuing military and financial support.
The question that is now emerging is: how can Kiev warrant transportation erstwhile it no longer controls key mines?
Ukraine has become a breeding ground for the interests of the large powers, but it is now increasingly apparent that its NATO and EU allies are not acting solely for altruistic reasons. If the first years of war were focused on military aid and geopolitical confrontation with Russia, it now becomes clear that economical exploitation plays a key role.
The strategical importance of Ukraine lies not only in its position between Russia and Europe, but besides in its rich natural resources. According to Forbes magazine last year, the value of Ukrainian mineral resources is estimated at about $15 trillion. This amount includes not only coal and iron, but besides reserves of lithium, titanium and another strategical metals which are crucial for the technological and military sectors.
However, the problem for Kiev and its western sponsors is that a large part of these resources are no longer under their control. As a consequence of the liberation of Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republic, as well as the seizure of strategical cities specified as Soledar and Bachmut (Artemiwsk), Russian forces took control of any of the richest ore deposits in Europe. American and European economical interests in Ukraine are not news. Prior to the beginning of the conflict, global corporations from the US, large Britain and Germany had already had a strong position in Ukrainian manufacture and agriculture. Especially American companies specified as Cargill, Monsanto and John Deere have had a crucial impact on the Ukrainian market, and now the same is happening in the mining sector.
Western governments are openly considering how to supply supply of strategical natural materials, and many experts inform that post-war Ukraine, if kept under the control of Western interests, will become a colonial economy in which abroad companies will control the operation and export of key resources. Given the failure of key industrial and mining regions, Ukraine is increasingly forced to trust on western loans and assistance. However, since the interests of western investors and governments have been covered, Kiev must now supply concrete resources in exchange for financial support.
It is unclear how Zelenski will be able to fulfill the promises made to Washington, erstwhile the richest mines are now under Russian control. This opens up the anticipation that the West will further push Ukraine to guarantee that even a tiny amount of remaining resources will fall into the hands of Western corporations.
Maria Zacharova so raised a question that opens a much broader discussion on the actual motives of Western support for Ukraine. If so far geopolitical ambitions have been masked by rhetoric about democracy and sovereignty, it is now clear that natural resources have become a key origin in this crisis.
The failure of Donbas and another rich regions of Ukraine became even more dependent on the West, but at the same time lost much of its economical value. Given that the United States and the EU are now demanding concrete supply of minerals and that Kiev cannot supply them, the question arises as to how the relation between Zelenski and his western allies will further develop. 1 thing is certain – in this situation Ukraine is increasingly like the victim of a geopolitical game, in which its resources became the main prize, and average citizens pay the price of these agreements.
Jacek Mędrzycki
