President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukraine has obtained intelligence showing Russia is planning a sweeping extraction of valuable minerals and grain from occupied southern territories, warning of a repeat of the “looting and deindustrialization” seen in the Donbas.
In a Telegram update citing a report from military intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko, Zelensky said Moscow intends to conduct geological exploration and rapidly extract resources from at least 18 deposits.
“These include titanium, lithium, tantalum, niobium, zirconium, molybdenum and graphite,” Zelensky said, adding that Russia is also preparing to seize and export this year’s grain harvest from occupied regions.
“We are preparing to counter this,” he said.
Russia has already seized vast resource assets across the occupied territories. Analysts estimate hundreds of deposits are now under Russian control – including at least 478 in Luhansk, 684 in Donetsk, and nearly 200 across Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions – covering both bulk materials and strategically important metals.
The strategy mirrors what Moscow has done in the occupied Donbas since 2014, including the dismantling of key industrial plants, the relocation of equipment to Russia and later, the integration of surviving enterprises into its state defense conglomerate, Rostec, to support military production.
Ukraine holds significant reserves of critical and industrial minerals, with more than 30% located in territories currently under Russian occupation.
Zelensky also pointed to what he described as mounting economic strain inside Russia, citing intelligence assessments of growing losses from Ukrainian long-range strikes and disruptions to production and exports.
“The scale of direct losses is increasing, and the impact on regional budgets is especially negative,” he said. “The effective bankruptcy of a significant portion of Russia’s regional budgets can no longer be concealed.”
At the same time, Kyiv is tracking a major shift in Russian air defense deployments. According to Zelensky, Moscow has been reinforcing layered air defenses around the capital by relocating systems from other regions.
“This shows the Russian leadership is not preparing for a ceasefire, despite numerous statements,” he said. “They are more concerned about their parade in Moscow than about the rest of the country.”
Zelensky suggested the redeployment could create vulnerabilities elsewhere, opening “additional opportunities” for Ukraine’s long-range strikes, with priorities to be set accordingly.
According to a report by German outlet Bild, based on satellite imagery, around 43 new air defense towers have been installed around Moscow in 2025 alone, forming what appears to be an expanded defensive perimeter designed to counter long-range drone threats.
The latest air defense redeployment comes as Moscow prepares for the May 9 Victory Day parade on Red Square, a key Kremlin showcase. Amid fears of drone attacks, this year’s event is expected to take place without heavy military equipment.