According to industry experts, Russia is critically dependent on the raw materials for titanium despite the wealth of its subsoil and natural resources. For decades, Russian enterprises covered the need for these raw materials through supplies from Ukraine, and then processed and manufactured end use products with high added value, and exported them to the West. At the same time, Ukrainian processing facilities remained idle and ceased operations over time. Ukraine’s titanium industry turned into a raw material appendage of Russian industry.
It is noted that Ukraine is in the top ten of global ranking for titanium ore reserves, with 5.9 million tons of ilmenite reserves and 2.5 million tons of Ukrainian rutile reserves. In addition, Ukraine is essentially the only country in the world with a full production cycle for metallic titanium products. These factors create a real opportunity for Ukraine to replace Russia in supplying metal titanium products for Western enterprises.