Russia controls $12.4 trillion worth of Ukraine's energy, says analysis

At least $12.4 trillion worth of Ukraine's essential natural resources, including energy and mineral deposits, are now under Russian control.

"The Kremlin is robbing Ukraine" of its natural resources, the backbone of it's economy, according to an analysis by SecDev posted by Washington Post on August 10.

Kyiv will lose nearly two-thirds of its deposits if the Kremlin is successful in annexing Ukrainian territory, depriving the nation of one of its most important economic cornerstones, the analyst noted.

While the survey noted that Ukraine is a major supplier of fossil fuels and a top exporter of cereals, it also noted that it is home to 117 of the 120 most often used minerals and metals.

Moscow has influence over 63% of the coal, 11% of the oil, 20% of the natural gas, 42% of the metals, and 33% of the rare earth in Ukraine, including important minerals like lithium, according to SecDev's analysis of 2,209 deposits.

Some of that was taken during the conflict with separatists backed by Russia in eastern Ukraine or during Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Ukrainian coal under Russia

Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, it has seized 41 coal fields, 27 natural gas sites, 14 propane sites, nine oil fields, six iron ore deposits, and several sites for titanium, zirconium, strontium, lithium, uranium, and gold, the report said.

Most of Ukraine's oil and gas reserves are still in its hands. But coal resources make up the great majority of the country's natural resource riches that is under Kremlin control.

In areas of Ukraine that are under Russian control, SecDev calculated that there are around 30 billion tons of hard coal resources worth $11.9 trillion.

EU is set to suspend its visa travel agreement with Russia

Earlier on Sunday, the European Union (EU) threatened to suspend visa travel agreements with Russia.

Russians will find it more difficult and expensive to obtain passports for the Schengen area as a result of the plan to freeze a 2007 agreement, according to the Financial Times.

Following threats from some eastern EU members to unilaterally restrict their borders to Russian tourists, other nations called for concerted action to prevent common Russian citizens from entering the EU on tourist visas.

Quoting its British intelligence sources, The Guardian reported that it's unclear if Russia would try to make up for its increase in military personnel by hiring more volunteer "contract" soldiers or by reducing annual conscription targets.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree earlier this week to boost the number of the armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million. According to the most recent UK Ministry of Defense briefing, the decree is not expected to "substantive progress" Russia's fighting capacity under the current Russian legal framework.