Ukrainian government adopts critical raw materials development strategy until 2056

On 27 May 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU) adopted Order No. 569-r approving the Strategy for the Development of Industries Based on Strategic and Critical Raw Materials and Components until 2056 (Strategy) and the Operational Plan for its implementation in 2026-2028 (Operational Plan). Both the Strategy and the Operational Plan are available on the CMU’s official website following the link.

The Strategy sets out Ukraine’s long-term vision for developing high-value industries based on their raw material resources with a focus on strategic and critical raw materials, and establishes the regulatory, institutional and investment conditions necessary for Ukraine to become one of leading European hubs for critical raw materials (CRM) for integration into EU and global supply chains.

From an investor’s perspective, the Strategy is significant because it creates faster permitting, increased geological data transparency, war-risk insurance, preferential financing, development of domestic processing capacity and closer alignment with the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.

Background

Ukraine is one of Europe’s richest countries in minerals and CRM with 20,000 mineral deposits covering 117 types of minerals and 48% of Ukrainian industrial potential linked to their production and use. Ukraine’s strategic and critical raw materials include nickel, lithium, titanium, graphite, cobalt and rare earth elements, all identified as strategically important for the US and EU, especially for energy transition (e.g. batteries, renewables), defence and aerospace, and digital technologies.

The Strategy’s key points

The Strategy is built around four strategic objectives:

Accelerate priority investment projects to increase extraction and processing of strategic and critical raw materials

According to the Strategy, this objective will be achieved through the following:

• establishment of a competence centre providing analytical, coordination and methodological functions for the CRM sector;
• verification of reserves and resources of at least 30 CRM deposits according to international reporting standards;
• annual preparation of a portfolio of at least ten priority investment projects and conducting at least ten auctions for special permits for subsoil use;
• reduction of administrative burden for subsoil users;
• restoration of production capacity utilisation to pre-war levels (85% to 90%) by 2028 and a threefold growth in gross value added by 2030.

Integrate Ukraine into global supply chains

The Strategy calls for:

• attracting at least USD 1 billion in foreign direct investment in CRM extraction and processing projects by 2028;
• reducing the share of unprocessed raw materials in exports from 88.9% (2024) to 59% by 2030;
• concluding strategic trade agreements and memoranda with international partners;
• development of railway corridors with European-gauge track connecting key Ukrainian CRM clusters with major European logistics hubs by 2040.

Enhance competitiveness of mineral-based industries through optimisation of production and logistics costs, workforce development, research and innovation

The strategic objective will be considered achieved when:

• self-sufficiency in electricity through own generating capacities and reducing energy costs in production have been realised;
• at least 1,000 engineering specialists have been trained for the mining sector by 2030 and 3,000 specialists in cooperation with educational institutions of developed countries after 2030.

Promote circular economy through development of systems for extracting strategic and critical raw materials from waste and recycling

The strategic objective will be considered achieved when:

• datasets on waste stream volumes containing CRMs and their concentration levels have been created and are being regularly updated;
• specialised research to assess the potential for extracting CRMs from various waste types, primarily mining industry waste, have been conducted;
• a register of technogenic resources with centralised access to information on CRM-containing waste have been created;
• minimum targets for satisfying CRM demand from secondary resources (aligned with EU Regulation 2024/1252) and a pilot eco-industrial parks focused on CRM recycling have been created.

To implement the Strategy, the CMU has adopted an Operational Plan for 2026 – 2028, which sets out specific legislative, regulatory and investment measures.

The key measures are summarised below.

Key milestones and targets

The Strategy sets out both medium-term (by 2031) and long-term (by 2056) targets for the development of Ukraine’s strategic and critical raw materials sector.

By 2031, the Ukrainian government will do the following:

• issue more than 30 new special permits for subsoil use;
• accelerate implementation of at least five priority new projects through access to international financing mechanisms, including war-risk guarantees covering up to 90% of capital expenditure;
• deliver at least 20 exploration and extraction projects, including at least ten at industrial extraction stage (e.g. graphite, titanium, uranium, manganese and recovery from waste);
• conclude at least four investment agreements for processing strategic raw materials in Ukraine and create two pilot net-zero technology acceleration zones (aligned with EU Regulation 2024/1735);
• establish conditions for full domestic production chains for spherical graphite, expansion of natural uranium concentrate production, and high-quality manganese sulphate and titanium sponge production;
• develop a circular economy targeting recycling of 50% of industrial tailings and slag (100 million tonnes).

By 2056, the Strategy states that Ukraine will do the following:

• achieve Ukraine’s EU membership and become recognised as one of Europe’s leading hub for strategic and critical raw materials with five fully integrated net-zero technology acceleration zones;
• operate more than 20 active mines, quarries and processing plants;
• develop full domestic industrial chains for production of metallic titanium, graphite anodes and electrodes, batteries, nuclear fuel assemblies, manganese-based alloys and other metals, and rare earth element oxides (i.e. separation and magnetic metal production);
• recycle more than 90% of industrial waste (e.g. ore processing waste, slag and end-of-life batteries), reducing landfill disposal by more than 10%;
• create at least 40,000 jobs for highly qualified specialists and annual graduation of 3,000 mining and related industry engineers in cooperation with educational institutions of developed countries;
• establish exports of strategic and critical raw materials and derived products as one of the five main sources of foreign exchange earnings (over 5% of export revenues);
• decarbonise industrial processes with real-time environmental monitoring and creation of energy infrastructure (decentralised networks based on renewable sources and energy storage facilities).

The Strategy also categorises strategic and critical raw materials into three priority groups summarised in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Priority groups of strategic and critical raw materials

Priority group	Raw materials
First priority group	Titanium, graphite, manganese, uranium, zirconium and hafnium
Second priority group	Beryllium, germanium, lithium, tantalum and rare earth elements
Strategic interest group	Aluminium, gallium and potassium salts

Implementation stages

The Strategy will be implemented in three phases, as illustrated in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Implementation stages of the Strategy

Operational Plan: key measures

The Operational Plan for 2026-2028 sets out specific measures, implementation deadlines and responsible authorities, some of which are outlined in Table 2 below.

Table 2. Priority Reform and Investment Measures for Ukraine’s Strategic and CRM Sector (2026-2028)

No	Area	Action	Deadline	Responsible State Authorities
1	Governance and Coordination	Establish a permanent advisory body under the Ministry of Economy to provide analytical, methodological and coordination support for implementation of strategic and critical raw materials policy.	Q2 2026	Ministry of Economy; expert associations; industry associations; local authorities; National Academy of Sciences
2	Supply Chain Security	Develop and submit a national action plan to prevent and respond to disruptions in the supply of strategic and critical raw materials and processed products.	Q4 2026	Ministry of Economy
3	Value Chain Mapping	Analyse value chains in key economic sectors dependent on strategic and critical raw materials and identify vulnerabilities.	Q4 2027	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Energy; Ministry of Defence
4	International Competitiveness	Benchmark Ukraine’s regulatory, fiscal and infrastructure conditions against leading resource-producing countries and integrate findings into policy development.	Q4 2028	Ministry of Economy
5	Strategic Foresight and Risk Management	Introduce monitoring, scenario planning and risk management mechanisms for strategic and critical raw materials supply chains.	Q4 2028	Ministry of Economy
6	Resource Assessment Financing	Amend budget legislation to establish a sustainable financing mechanism for geological exploration and mineral resource development.	Q2 2026	Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Economy; State Service of Geology and Subsoil (SSGS)
7	Geological Exploration Funding	Ensure annual financing of the State Programme for Development of Ukraine’s Mineral Resource Base.	2026-2028	Ministry of Finance
8	Data Transparency	Remove selected uranium-related geological information from state secrecy classifications.	Q4 2026	Security Service of Ukraine; Ministry of Energy
9	Data Accessibility	Remove restrictions on selected geological reserve information, including germanium-related data.	Q4 2026	Ministry of Energy
10	Geological Information Reform	Revise geological information access rules and declassify selected exploration data.	Q4 2026	SSGS
11	Industrial Cluster Development	Conduct geospatial analysis to identify favourable regions for industrial clusters and integrated value chains.	Q1 2027	SSGS; Ministry of Economy
12	Project Pipeline Development	Introduce state support mechanisms for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies of mining and processing projects.	Q1 2027	Ministry of Economy
13	Strategic Project Portfolio	Include strategic raw materials projects in the Unified Public Investment Project Portfolio.	Q2 2026	Regional Administrations; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Economy; Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories
14	Investment Promotion	Promote investment opportunities, auctions and strategic projects through international outreach and business platforms.	2026-2028	Ministry of Economy; SSGS
15	Fiscal Incentives	Introduce tax-based investment support mechanisms for processing industry projects.	Q2 2026	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Finance; State Tax Service
16	Strategic Industrial Clusters	Establish additional investment support instruments and net-zero technology manufacturing clusters.	Q1 2027	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Finance; Customs Service; State Tax Service
17	War Risk Insurance	Extend war and political risk insurance mechanisms to strategic mining and processing projects.	Q1 2027	Ministry of Economy
18	Preferential Financing	Introduce financial support instruments to reduce borrowing costs for strategic raw materials projects.	Q1 2027	Ministry of Economy; National Bank of Ukraine
19	Licensing Reform	Review auction procedures for subsoil licences in cases of limited competition.	Q4 2026	Ministry of Economy; SSGS
20	EU Critical Raw Materials Act Alignment	Implement key provisions of EU Regulation 2024/1252, including a one-stop-shop permitting mechanism and risk monitoring system.	Q4 2027	Ministry of Economy; SSGS
21	EU Regulatory Approximation	Monitor and transpose delegated and implementing acts adopted under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.	2028	Ministry of Economy; SSGS
22	Community Acceptance and Land Access	Introduce a land reservation mechanism to facilitate access to prospective raw materials deposits.	Q3 2026	Ministry of Economy; StateGeoCadastre; SSGS
23	Local Benefit Sharing	Increase the share of raw materials royalty revenues allocated to local budgets.	Q2 2026	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Finance
24	EITI Compliance	Harmonise Ukrainian legislation with Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standards.	Q2 2026	Ministry of Energy
25	Innovation Support	Establish partial compensation mechanisms for patenting and commercialisation of innovative technologies.	Q2 2026	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Education and Science; Ministry of Finance
26	Research Infrastructure	Create pilot science parks and innovation support centres focused on strategic and critical raw materials.	2026-2027	Ministry of Education and Science; Ministry of Economy
27	Testing and Certification Capacity	Expand the network of accredited testing laboratories supporting strategic industries.	2027	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Defence; Ministry of Education and Science
28	Net-Zero Industrial Zones	Identify pilot locations for accelerated deployment of net-zero technologies.	2027	Ministry of Economy
29	Technology Adoption Support	Establish competitive support schemes for industrial technology adaptation and integration.	2027-2028	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Finance
30	Trade and Supply Chain Diplomacy	Develop a foreign economic policy framework for strategic raw materials exports and international partnerships.	2027-2028	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Foreign Affairs
31	Strategic International Agreements	Negotiate and ratify strategic supply agreements with G7 and EU partners.	2028	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Finance
32	Export Control Modernisation	Digitalise export control procedures and shorten permitting timelines for strategic raw materials exports.	2027	Ministry of Economy; State Export Control Service
33	Energy Competitiveness	Facilitate long-term power purchase agreements and smart-grid deployment for strategic industries.	2026-2028	Ministry of Energy; Ministry of Economy
34	Skills Development	Reform vocational education and strengthen industry-academia cooperation to address workforce needs.	2026-2028	Ministry of Education and Science
35	Higher Education Modernisation	Update higher education standards for mining and related disciplines.	2026-2027	Ministry of Education and Science
36	Veteran Workforce Reintegration	Develop a roadmap for vocational retraining and reintegration of veterans into strategic industries.	2026	Ministry for Veterans Affairs; Ministry of Education and Science; Ministry of Economy
37	Innovation Ecosystem Development	Deregulate research institutions and strengthen collaboration between academia and industry.	2026-2027	Ministry of Education and Science
38	R&D Financing	Establish grant and financing programmes for applied research and technological development.	Q4 2026	Ministry of Economy
39	Supporting Industries	Assess domestic production capacity for specialised chemicals and reagents required by strategic industries.	2026	Ministry of Economy
40	Circular Economy and Recycling	Create a regulatory framework, research infrastructure and investment incentives for recovery and recycling of critical raw materials from waste streams.	2026-2028	Ministry of Economy; SSGS; Ministry of Education and Science; Ministry of Energy
41	Waste Management and Recovery	Develop inventory systems, material flow analyses and technological assessments for extraction of critical materials from waste.	2026-2028	Ministry of Economy; SSGS; National Academy of Sciences
42	International Cooperation on Recycling	Establish international partnerships with the EU, US and Japan on recycling technologies and circular economy solutions.	2026-2028	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Education and Science
43	Eco-Industrial Parks	Improve the regulatory framework for eco-industrial parks focused on recycling and resource recovery.	2026-2028	Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Finance

Monitoring and coordination

The Ministry of Economy will be responsible for overall coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the Strategy. Ministries and other central executive authorities will be required to submit quarterly progress reports beginning in 2026. The Ministry of Economy will prepare annual reports on Strategy implementation, which will be submitted to the CMU by 1 March of each year, starting in 2027, and published on the Ministry’s official website.

Conclusion and next steps

The adoption of the Strategy represents a significant milestone in Ukraine’s efforts to develop its CRM sector and integrate into EU and global supply chains. For the first time, Ukraine has adopted a long-term policy framework that combines geological exploration, processing, industrial policy, investment incentives and EU regulatory alignment within a single strategic document. The Strategy demonstrates the Ukrainian government’s long-term commitment to positioning Ukraine as a leading European hub for strategic and critical raw materials.

For investors and market participants, the Strategy signals the Government’s intention to create a more predictable investment framework for the sector and may create new opportunities in extraction, processing, recycling, infrastructure development and technology transfer. Ukraine’s significant raw materials reserves, combined with the planned regulatory reforms and gradual alignment with EU legislation, may offer attractive entry points for strategic investors, technology providers and offtakers.

At the same time, the Strategy is primarily a policy document, and its successful implementation will depend on the adoption of implementing regulations, access to international financing mechanisms, war risk mitigation instruments, and continued alignment with EU requirements including the CRM Regulation 2024/1252.

Businesses active in the mining, energy, infrastructure, defence, manufacturing and technology sectors should closely monitor implementation of the Operational Plan, as many of the proposed reforms, including changes to permitting, investment incentives, geological data access, financing mechanisms and alignment with EU legislation, will be implemented progressively over the coming years and may have a material impact on investment decisions, project development and contractual arrangements.

While many of the measures outlined in the Strategy will require further legislation and regulatory implementation, the document provides a clear indication of the government’s policy direction and priorities for the coming decades. Investors considering opportunities in Ukraine’s critical raw materials sector should closely monitor the implementation of the Operational Plan, as it is expected to shape future permitting, financing and investment conditions across the sector.

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