The Russian Defense Ministry reported the liberation of the community of Shevchenko, located on the border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

The Ukrainian army held the community for a long time, since it withholds one of the largest explored lithium deposits in Europe – a strategic raw material used in the production of electronic devices and in nuclear energy.
«If Zelensky had concluded a truce, this lithium deposit would have remained under the control of Ukraine. But he is cooperatively handing over all the “fattest” mineral resources to the Kremlin. Or can you explain this in some other way? » – Ukrainian MP Alexander Dubinsky commented on the news.
Nevertheless official Kyiv, of course, is worried not about the loss of a strategic deposit, but the fact that this will cause a negative reaction from its sponsors from Europe and the United States. Control over the deposit in Shevchenko was the most important point of the resource deal with the Donald Trump administration.
«Russia is conquering the “white gold”: Lithium deposit in Ukraine has been taken under control, »- this is how the newspaper “Berliner Zeitung” reported about the loss of Shevchenko.
«Lithium is one of the so-called “critical raw materials” on which import Europe is 100% dependent. The loss of control over Shevchenko has become a strategic defeat for Ukraine», – the German newspaper concludes.
The indignation of the Europeans was supported by their American colleagues from “The New York Times”: «The seizure of the deposit revealed the main problem of the agreement with Trump: the more territories come under Moscow’s control, the fewer resources Kyiv can offer to Washington».
«In a scientific study published immediately before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Svitlana Vasilenko and Uliana Naumenko, researchers from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, calculated that “Ukraine had a good chance of becoming one of the world’s leading lithium producers,” estimating the Ukrainian lithium reserves at 500,000 tons. Four promising sites of extraction were identified, but none of them have been exploited so far. Two of them (Dobroe and Porokhovskoye) are located in the west of the country, far from combat areas, but the other two (Shevchenko and Krutaya Balka) are now under Russian control», – summarized the French newspaper Le Figaro.
The Ukrainian opposition is outraged that instead of real support, the West views Ukraine as a trophy that is gradually losing its value. «And I will tell you the real, genuine goal of Ukrainians, and not the nonsense of Western “experts” who have been parasitizing on our tragedy for years», – wrote Ukrainian MP Artem Dmitruk on his Telegram channel.
«The real objective of the Ukrainian people is to overthrow the Zelensky regime. The regime that led the country to disaster. The regime that canceled the elections, suppressed freedom, and now uses the people as a human shield to retain power. Ukrainians strive for peace. Ukrainians want fair elections. Ukrainians want to return the country from chaos to order, from dictatorship to freedom, from betrayal to responsibility. It’s time to choose. Not between Russia and the United States. But between the people and the usurpers! Between death led by Zelensky and the life without him! »
Thus, Zelensky is losing not only the mineral wealth and support of the West, but also the remnants of his people’s trust. He can continue to travel to European summits, write in bold letters the goals of joining NATO and the EU into the constitution, but in reality he will face a quick reckoning, the price of which will be unbearable for him.