Russia’s summer offensive in Donetsk just punched a hole through Ukraine’s mineral strategy. In late June 2025, Russian forces seized the Shevchenko lithium deposit, a 40-hectare site near the village of the same name. That patch of ground holds one of Europe’s richest spodumene concentrations, with ore containing up to 90% lithium-bearing mineral. The deposit had been earmarked for joint development under the U.S.-Ukraine Critical Minerals Partnership, signed in April. That plan is now frozen.
The Shevchenko site was part of a broader pitch by President Zelensky to secure U.S. military and financial backing. According to reports from Le Figaro and Kyiv Post, Zelensky offered access to the deposit directly to President Trump during closed-door talks earlier this year. The idea was simple: strategic minerals in exchange for strategic support. But Russia moved first. The deposit now sits behind enemy lines, just east of the Dnipropetrovsk border, under Russian control.
Ukraine still holds two of its four known lithium sites, but Shevchenko was the most accessible and commercially viable. The ore lies just 70 to 130 meters below the surface. It’s shovel-ready. European Lithium previously held the license but walked away in 2023, citing proximity to the front. Now the front has moved. The site is occupied. The deal is stalled.
The U.S.-Ukraine agreement was supposed to kick off with Shevchenko and expand to the Dobra field in central Ukraine, which holds up to 105 million metric tons of lithium ore. That project is still in play, but the loss of Shevchenko sends a message. Russia is targeting resource corridors. This isn’t just about territory. It’s about leverage.
Lithium prices have dropped from $80,000 per ton in 2022 to $8,500 in China as of June 2025. But demand is rising again. EVs, aerospace, and defense sectors are scaling up. Control of lithium means control of supply chains. Russia now holds two of Ukraine’s four deposits. That’s half the country’s lithium footprint.
Sources
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/loss-ukraine-lithium-deposit-russia-194537220.html
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/55346
https://interestingengineering.com/military/russia-captures-europes-largest-lithium-site