Belarusian authorities asked Russia to hand over Ukrainian deposits in Donbas. Those are not even occupied yet
While the Russian army is storming cities in Donetsk region, official Minsk is trying to gain economic dividends from the war. A new investigation by Ukrinform in cooperation with Belpol reports that since 2023, Lukashenka's regime has been asking the Kremlin to transfer white clay deposits near Druzhkivka to Belarusian enterprises.
Kaolin, Ukrainian white clay, is valued worldwide. Ukraine holds almost 10 percent of its global reserves.
Until 2022, Belarus received almost all raw materials for its ceramic industry from here. After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, supplies to Belarus were halted, but, as it turns out, not completely. Documents obtained by the Belpol organization indicate that Belarusian state-owned enterprises continue to receive Ukrainian raw materials — now from the territory of the Donetsk region occupied by Russia.
At the same time, officials in Minsk tried to reach an agreement with Moscow on establishing control over Ukrainian kaolin deposits in the Donetsk region.
According to data from the Belpol organization and the Ukrinform publication, state-owned enterprises "Keramin" and "Byarozabudmateryjaly" systematically receive Ukrainian raw materials through Russian shell companies, utilizing resources from captured deposits.
As noted by Vladimir Zhyhar, an official representative of Belpol, "Ukrainian kaolin is a fundamental element of competitiveness for the Belarusian ceramic industry," and after 2022, a deficit formed in the country that could not be covered without a loss in product quality.
The key supplier in the scheme is the Donetsk-based LLC "Nika Trade Invest," which extracts clay from the "Belaya Balka" deposit in the Volnovakha district. According to documents, the recorded volume of supplies alone exceeds $7.5 million, and logistics are carried out by rail and road transport via Rostov-on-Don to Belarusian enterprises.
In addition to using already captured resources, official Minsk at a high level tried to secure deposits that Russia has not even managed to occupy yet.
According to a letter from the Ministry of Architecture and Construction of the Republic of Belarus addressed to Alexander Lukashenka dated July 1, 2024, negotiations regarding the lease of deposits near Druzhkivka, belonging to the Ukrainian PJSC "Veska" and remaining under Ukraine's control, were already underway in 2023.
The Russian side then replied that the consideration of the issue "was deemed premature due to the property complex being in uncontrolled territory."
Despite Moscow's refusals, Minsk continues to insist on the future transfer of these assets under its control. Official correspondence emphasizes that "the work to reach agreements on the development of kaolin deposits in the Russian Federation by the Ministry of Architecture and Construction will be continued."
Thus, it follows from the publication, this concerns a deliberate state strategy for the distribution of Ukrainian subsoil resources that will fall under occupation.