Ukrainian government sources have long highlighted russian theft of Ukrainian resources from areas it has occupied. Iron ore, coal, titanium, uranium, manganese, gold and lithium deposits are all present in Ukraine, resources which are almost certainly coveted by russia but also potential targets as russia seeks to grind down Ukraine’s economy, denying access and destroying infrastructure, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
One of the reasons russia seeks to improve transportation networks in occupied Ukraine is because it wants to extract more Ukrainian minerals. The russian occupation official for Zaporizhzhia region previously claimed the ongoing upgrading and construction of road and rail transportation links to russia would improve the lines of communication not only for military logistics, but grain and mineral export.
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South of Dniprorudne in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, russia continues its mining activity, removing iron ore by rail. Trains travel through Crimea, over the Kerch bridge into russia. This activity is not without risk; as trains need to move through areas where Ukrainian partisans are known to operate and have already claimed responsibility for attacks.
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