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President Donald Trump recently renewed calls for a territorial land swap between Russia and Ukraine — a geopolitical maneuver that, if pursued, could grant Moscow control over some of Ukraine’s most strategic and resource-rich regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected any proposal that would allow Russia to retain control of its occupied territory in the war-weary country.
“Russia’s access to minerals in occupied Ukraine will likely augment the People’s Republic of China’s ability to access Ukraine’s minerals,” the Institute for the Study of War wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital, adding that Russia has previously worked with China to extract these commodities around the globe since at least 2005.
“The U.S.–Ukraine mineral deal signed in April 2025 will only be effective if U.S. and Ukrainian companies can access those resources,” the statement from the Institute for the Study of War went on to say, noting the challenge given that Russian forces currently hold territory containing significant deposits.
Salvo said that Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory along the Black Sea not only restricts Ukraine’s sea-based exports, but also grants Moscow control over valuable offshore gas reserves.
Salvo also estimates that Ukraine, historically known as Europe’s breadbasket, stands to lose billions of dollars in grain export value.
“Ukraine’s economy would survive, but it would undoubtedly lose in the hundreds of billions,” Salvo said.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, agriculture was Ukraine’s third-largest economic sector, contributing nearly 11% of GDP and employing about 2.5 million people, according to a 2024 European Parliament report.
According to the latest review from the Kyiv School of Economics, the Ukrainian agriculture industry has sustained approximately $80 billion in damages and losses.
The group also projects that the country’s economy will shrink by 45%, while disrupted grain exports and ongoing destruction of its agricultural sector threaten millions worldwide with hunger.
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