Occupied territories of Ukraine hide lucrative loot for Putin

This Black Sea Not just the big exit door for ukraine exports or one of the most important tourist demands in a country large hydrocarbon deposit. By some estimates, Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone alone could contain two trillion cubic meters of land. gas reserves. The project, which began with Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and depriving its neighbor of “80% of the gas and oil deposits in the Dead Sea”, is almost completely still under development. Ministry of Energy of Ukraine. Moscow soon regained control. spoil. His forces on the peninsula seized subsidiaries of the Ukrainian state holding. NaftogazAssets worth billions of euros transferred to Russian gas giant Gazprom, controlled by the Kremlin.

Much has been said about the causes that lead to it. Vladimir Putin To order the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Imagination from NATO’s approach to its borders “denazification” Ukrainian leadership imperial whims hiding his revisionist rhetoric behind the obsession of preventing Ukraine from leaving the country. Russian domain. But little has been analyzed The economic component of the Russian offensivedespite extensive ukrainian resourcess, this country a agriculture and mining superpoweras well as a lucrative goldmine for energy exploration.

lithium and other minerals

Ukraine produces 12 percent wheat 16% of the amount consumed in the world Sweetcorn18% barley spherical or nearly half sunflower oilI. But also some largest world reserves from uranium, iron, titanium, Mercury or magnesium. something similar to rare minerals lying on its soil and putting it directly into competition ChineseAustralia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, the main manufacturers. Best known, lithium, a fundamental element for the manufacture of batteries used by electric cars. Last year, just a few months before the start of the war, Kyiv began auction licenses to exploit reserves of lithium, cobalt and nickel. Australian and Chinese companies win first contracts, intensify Donetsk (this and Kirovograd (center) and is now stranded in battle.

Most of this wealth East and sunlight country exactly Territories occupied by Russian troops. “I don’t think Putin’s plan to invade Ukraine is part of his economic resources. they weighed more geopolitical reasonsbut it is clear that the economic benefit is an important incentive for the Russians”, Olha Pindyuk, a Ukrainian economist at the Vienna International Institute for Economic Research, said in an interview.

“Looking at the course of the war so far, it does not seem that Russia is trying to take over the Ukrainian industry, but destroy your economy. There is no other way to explain why they bombarded granaries and metallurgical plants or blocked ports to stop exports.” According to World Bank forecasts, Ukraine’s economy will shrink by 45 percent this year, or the same, lose almost half. This idea is reinforced by what Russia and its Ukrainian allies have done since 2014 in the occupied areas of Donbas, which until the beginning of this last occupation was a third of its territory.

The destruction of the Ukrainian economy

Unlike what happened in Crimeainitiated by Moscow development strategy with investments in new roads, power plants, transmission lines or a bridge of 3,500 million euros to connect the peninsula to the territory of Russia, Lugansk Y Donetsk Quitting has become the norm. “None of the factories and companies in the region are operating at full capacity. Most of them stand still or have been destroyed or looted,” says Ukrainian liberal politician and blogger Anton Shvets. “It should be emphasized that these factories were destroyed not by war, but by war. mismanagement Y lack of investment. They basically let factories die.”

But a country’s industry is not the same as the economic potential hidden in its resources. And in the case of Ukraine only farming fully developed, something that is not yet mining and energy sector. Indeed, Ukraine is a net energy importerdespite having Europe’s second largest gas reserve and octaves of coal in the world.

A situation that the experts explained as a priority, The Soviet Union given for gas removal in the beds western siberia In the last third of the last century, Ukrainian experts in this field were also overthrown. “As a result of this brain transfer, Ukraine’s gas resources have remained underdeveloped, largely unexploited and partially unexplored,” political scientist Robert Muggah writes in ‘Foreign Policy’.

All this means that the war in Ukraine is hiding a truth. Juicy booty for Putin, no matter how raw material superpower your country is. At the very least, a tough competitor that has begun the privatization of the energy sector and opened the door to foreign exploitation of its mines will now be able to neutralize projects that have been stopped by bombs.

Source: Informacion

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