Le Figaro: Kyiv Loses Strategic Lithium Site After Fall of Shevchenko to Russian Forces

Ukraine has lost one of its most promising lithium deposits after the Russian forces have captured the village of Shevchenko in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), French newspaper Le Figaro reports. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the settlement's capture on June 26, calling it a key milestone in its offensive. The Shevchenko deposit is believed to allow for cheaper lithium extraction compared to other Ukrainian sites.

According to Ukraine's National Geological Survey, the Shevchenko site contains more than 90% spodumene — a lithium-aluminum silicate — which is easier and less capital-intensive to process than petalite, another lithium-bearing mineral. This makes Shevchenko a highly attractive project, Le Figaro notes, citing Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Center. In contrast, the remaining lithium deposits in Ukraine mostly contain petalite, which is more complex and expensive to process.

In addition to lithium, the Shevchenko site reportedly contains other valuable rare metals such as:

• tantalum,
• niobium,
• beryllium,
• cesium,
• rubidium,
• and tin.

Lithium, which has seen sharp price increases in recent years, is crucial for producing batteries used in electric vehicles and is often referred to as "white gold."

DPR head Denis Pushilin stated in January that the capture of Shevchenko brought under Russian control lithium deposits that were also of interest to the West. At that time, Russia's Defense Ministry had claimed to capture a settlement named Shevchenko near Krasnoarmeysk (now Pokrovsk), but the actual lithium field is located in Shevchenko, Volnovakha district — whose seizure was only confirmed recently.

A February report by Roscongress noted that Ukraine lost control over the Shevchenkivske lithium ore field (estimated reserves of 13.8 million tons with 1.24% lithium oxide content) and the Kruta Balka deposit in Zaporizhzhia after the annexation of DPR, LPR, and parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions by Russia.

In early May, after months of negotiation, the United States and Ukraine signed a minerals agreement creating a fund to reinvest Ukraine's mineral revenues into new projects and reconstruction. According to The New York Times, Kyiv recently took steps to meet its obligations under this deal by approving recommendations to open bidding for lithium exploration at the Dobro deposit in Kirovohrad region.