The media pointed to a large lithium deposit in a village liberated by the Russian Armed Forces in the DPR

A large lithium deposit in the village of Shevchenko in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), which Ukraine considers one of the most promising, is under the control of the Russian Armed Forces (AF). The French newspaper Le Figaro wrote about this on June 27.

"<Liberating> a seemingly harmless village (Shevchenko. — Ed.) <...>, the Russians have taken control of one of the most promising lithium deposits in Ukraine," the newspaper writes.

The media clarifies that the settlement of Shevchenko, liberated on June 26, is located about 10 km from the city of Velikaya Novoselka, which the Russian Armed Forces liberated in January. In addition to lithium, the Shevchenko site also has deposits of rare metals.

The authors specify that Ukraine has already lost control over two of the four lithium deposits. None of them are currently in use.

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In 2025, Russia began to actively develop the industry

On June 16, The New York Times reported that Ukraine had begun implementing a deal with the United States on minerals, allowing the development of a large lithium deposit in the Kirovohrad region. It was clarified that by such actions Kiev is trying to show the administration of US President Donald Trump the opportunity to quickly achieve tangible results from the deal.