The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
In 2026, the Russian Federation intends to launch a large-scale geological exploration program in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region, planned to run until 2031.
This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine on January 15.
It is noted that the project envisages not isolated studies but long-term phased exploration of mineral deposits, with a focus on strategic and rare raw materials in demand in the modern economy.
“The basis for exploration will be Soviet-era geological materials. In the post-Soviet period, research in the region virtually stopped, so the occupation authorities now plan to уточнювати and update the data, as well as assess the prospects of sites in terms of further industrial development.
Funding for the works is declared to come from the state budget of the Russian Federation, which is indicative, as geological exploration requires significant and long-term investments without quick returns”, — the statement said.
The Foreign Intelligence Service emphasized that financing geological exploration from the Russian state budget underscores the strategic nature of these plans.
The Service noted that the increased interest in Ukrainian subsoil is occurring against the backdrop of deteriorating conditions in Russia’s traditional resource sectors.
“Russia’s oil industry is experiencing serious difficulties: rising extraction costs, sanctions restrictions, and problems with exports and technologies are forcing the Kremlin to seek alternative sources of revenue”, — the Foreign Intelligence Service explained.
Under these conditions, the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories are viewed as a resource base for plugging budget gaps and supporting the wartime economy.
In essence, this constitutes the deliberate exploitation of Ukrainian land and natural resources to enrich the aggressor state.
“Russia, in violation of international law, is attempting to compensate for its own economic failures at the expense of the subsoil of Donetsk region, turning geological exploration not into a tool for regional development but into a mechanism for resource plunder of the occupied territories”, — the Foreign Intelligence Service concluded.
