President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, the russian leadership is not preparing for a ceasefire on May 9. He also reported on russia’s intentions to begin extracting and exporting minerals from the temporarily occupied territories in the south of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy made this statement on his Telegram channel.
What is known about russia’s plans for mineral extraction in the temporarily occupied territories?
Intelligence has documented russia’s plans for geological exploration and rapid extraction, followed by the export of raw materials from at least 18 deposits. These include titanium, lithium, tantalum, niobium, zirconium, molybdenum deposits, and graphite.
He also noted that the russian side may carry out activities that, in his words, resemble “plunder and deindustrialization,” similar to actions in the occupied territories of the Donbas.
Separately, Zelenskyy reported on the occupation authorities’ intentions to export this year’s grain harvest. He stated that Ukraine is preparing countermeasures.
How the situation is changing within russia?
In addition, the President reported an increase in direct losses resulting from strikes by Ukrainian forces on russian territory. According to him, these strikes are affecting the budgets of russian regions.
He also reported that, according to intelligence, the air defense system around moscow is being strengthened by redeploying resources from russian regions. Zelenskyy attributed this to the fact that the russian leadership is not considering a ceasefire scenario and is focusing on security measures in the capital.
As a reminder, the russians have begun illegally mining manganese in the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia Region. This refers to one of the world’s largest deposits — Velykotokmatske — which, in terms of manganese reserves, far exceeds those of russian deposits.
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