PM Shmygal: Ukraine ready to work with EU to reach independence from Russian resources

MOSCOW. Nov 17 (Interfax) - Ukraine stands ready to make efforts jointly with the European Union to become fully independent of Russian resources, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.

"In 2021, Ukraine was among the top ten countries in terms of production of titanium, iron ore, kaolin, manganese, zirconium, and graphite. Among the 120 types of minerals consumed in the world, 117 were found among the subsoil resources in the territory of Ukraine. Moreover, we have concentrations of deposits of 22 out of 30 minerals included in the list of critical minerals for the EU. They include lithium, beryllium, rare earth elements, nickel and cobalt," Ukrainian media outlets quoted Shmygal as saying in a social media post following his speech at a business forum on the strategic partnership in the Ukraine-EU resource sector as part of the European Raw Materials Week 2022.

Ukraine remains committed to the green transition and to achieving the goals of the European Green Deal, he said.

The post-crisis recovery of Ukraine will be based on the development of clean technologies in compliance with EU standards, the prime minister said.

"We are ready to work together with the European Commission and other parties concerned to abandon Russian resources and to strengthen Europe's energy and resource security," he said.