Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the country to expedite the development of its domestic lithium and rare earth mineral deposits, citing the strategic importance of these resources for high-capacity battery production and advanced technologies.
Speaking at a conference in Moscow, Putin criticized the country’s delay in mining lithium, stating, “We still do not mine lithium. And how can we develop without it? But we can do it. And we could have done it 10 or 15 years ago.”
Russia possesses an estimated 1 million tons of lithium reserves, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), with Russian estimates placing lithium oxide reserves at 3.5 million tons. However, prior to the conflict in Ukraine, the country relied on lithium imports, which have been severely disrupted by Western sanctions. As a result, Moscow has intensified efforts to extract its own lithium and aims to eliminate imports of the metal and other rare earth elements by 2030.
Additionally, Russian forces are advancing toward one of Ukraine’s largest lithium deposits, further underscoring the geopolitical significance of these critical minerals in the ongoing conflict.
