russia’s Arctic Reserves of Rare Earth Elements, Oil, and Gas Are Being Divided Among Three Individuals, – Says the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine

russia’s Arctic reserves of rare earth elements, oil, and gas are being divided among three people. This was told to Ukrinform by a well-informed interlocutor in the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

It is pointed out that the resources are controlled by First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of russia Sergei Kirienko, President of the state oil company “Rosneft” Igor Sechin, and Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.

In particular, according to him, former Secretary of the Security Council and current Head of the Maritime Collegium of the rf Nikolai Patrushev is no longer a key player in the Arctic. Accordingly, his younger son, Andrei Patrushev, CEO of the autonomous non-profit organization “Arctic Initiatives Center”, who previously oversaw gas production on the Arctic shelf, is no longer among the key players in the region.

Instead, the “Arctic pie” is being divided among new favorites. One of them is First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the rf Kirienko. Through “Rosatom”, which he controls and which is not subject to sanctions, he effectively controls the entire vast ecosystem of the Northern Sea Route. In particular, through the company FESCO, “Rosatom” owns key seaports, while through the “Hydrographic Enterprise”, which is part of “Rosatom”’s Northern Sea Route General Administration, it provides navigational and hydrographic support for navigation in the Northern Sea Route waters.

“Key deposits of rare earth elements in the Arctic zone are also within the sphere of influence of “Rosatom” and Kirienko,” said the agency’s interlocutor in intelligence.

According to the foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the second most influential figure in the Arctic zone is Igor Sechin and his “Rosneft”. The company controls the “Zvezda” shipyard in Primorsky Krai, which is de facto a monopoly in the production of icebreakers, which are built first of all for “Rosatom”. “Rosneft” also has its own rare earth deposits in the North, in particular the Tomtor carbonate deposit.

The Arctic pool also includes Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Dmitriev.

“He is trying to seize control of valuable deposits of rare earth elements. He is positioning himself as a key player by promoting projects such as the Arctic Investment Fund. The goal behind this is to try to “sell” the Arctic to foreign investors at the highest possible price,” said the agency’s interlocutor.

In general, moscow is trying to play up two resources it has at its disposal: the Arctic reserves of rare earth elements and the Northern Sea Route project. The two are closely linked, as the largest deposits of rare earth elements are located in northern russia (Murmansk region, Sakha-Yakutia), i.e., along the Northern Sea Route.

In the current situation, russia does not have sufficient financial resources and the necessary technologies to establish full extraction of rare earth elements and their subsequent export via the NSR infrastructure. Therefore, it needs significant foreign investment for this.

According to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the kremlin’s tactical goal is to secure both legal and actual control over the Northern Sea Route. It considers restricting freedom of navigation for foreign vessels as a tool to achieve this. This involves attempts to introduce a procedure that would require mandatory approval for foreign military and civilian ships to pass through the Northern Sea Route in areas covered by ice.