Russian troops have seized one of the largest lithium deposits in Ukraine, located near the village of Shevchenko in the Donetsk region. Despite Ukrainian forces controlling the areas surrounding this region, the deposit known as «Shevchenkivske» is currently under Russian occupation, where intense fighting continues.
This is reported by Finway
Agreement with the USA and Investment Risks
The occupation of this key lithium asset by the Russians occurred just two months after the signing on April 30 of an important agreement between Ukraine and the United States regarding cooperation in the field of critical minerals. The main goal of this agreement is to attract foreign investment into Ukraine’s mining sector.
«It was clear that it was under enormous risk of occupation, and no one assumed it would be a good asset for the agreement».
Serhiy Fursa, a top manager at the investment company Dragon Capital, is convinced that Ukraine’s loss of this deposit will not significantly affect the agreements with Washington. According to him, even before the signing of the agreement, all participants were aware of the risks of losing the asset due to military actions.
Prospects for Lithium Mining in Ukraine
As of July 2025, only two of the four known lithium deposits remain under Ukrainian control, both located in the central part of the country. Earlier, the Russian Federation occupied another large deposit, «Kruta Balka», in the Zaporizhzhia region during the first year of the full-scale aggression.
Lithium is one of the strategically important resources highlighted in the signed Ukrainian-American agreement. According to its terms, Ukraine plans to open the large «Dobra» deposit in the Kirovohrad region to private investors, with reserves estimated at 80-105 million tons of lithium ore.