The wealth that Russia acquires by annexing the territories of Ukraine, which it conquered militarily and outside of land transport networks, energy, and geostrategic footholds, is enormous (for more information, please read the analysis entitled “The Strategic Importance of the Sea of Azov for the Country that owns it“).
The ceremony for the annexation of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, regions belonging to Ukraine, to the Russian Federation is taking place today in Moscow.
The increase in the territorial size of Russia
According to preliminary data, as a result of the annexation of the upper regions of Ukraine, the territory of Russia will increase by 107 thousand square kilometers. A size that is comparable to the area of countries like Bulgaria or Cuba. At the same time, the population of Russia may increase by 6-8 million people.
The main economic potential of Donbass is coal mining and rolling of ferrous metals. In 2021, production in Donetsk amounted to 190 billion rubles.
Huge Industries
The main enterprises are Donetsk and Yenakievsky metallurgical plants, Zuevskaya TPP, Komsomolskoye Mining Administration, Khartsyzsky Pipe Plant.
Lugansk’s economy looks similar. 73% of the republic’s exports are metal products. The main enterprises are: Krasnodonugol, Rovenkianthracite, Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant, Alchevsk Coke and Chemical Plant.
The Kherson region will give Russia access to the Azov-Black Sea basin and the Dnieper River, which opens up opportunities for the development of sea and river transport, the leisure industry, as well as agriculture, which forms the basis of the economy in the region .
The district has vast agricultural land with fertile areas (1968.4 thousand hectares, including 1770 thousand hectares of arable land), which are ideal for crop and livestock production, including the cultivation of winter wheat, corn, rice, sunflower.
Huge arable land
At least two million tons of food grains, one million tons of vegetables and melon products, 35 thousand tons of rice, 100 thousand tons of fruits, 50 thousand tons of grapes and other products can be grown in the area annually.
The industrial complex of Kherson consists of more than 200 enterprises of various branches: shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, food and processing, pulp and paper chemicals, light industry, electricity industry. Two international transport corridors pass through its territory.
In the Zaporizhia region, two-thirds of the territories are annexed so far. The regional capital – Zaporizhia – is under the control of the Ukrainian authorities. The region also has access to the Sea of Azov, on the coast of which the port of Berdyansk is located.
A significant amount of cereals, sunflowers, vegetables and melons are grown in Zaporozhye. Poultry and pig breeding is actively developing.
Industry and energy
It also has engineering, chemical and petrochemical, food industry and light industry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, energy and pharmaceutical production.
More than 160 large industrial enterprises operate in the region, including the Zaporizhstal Steel and Cast Iron Manufacturer, the Dneprospetsstal Special Steel Manufacturer, the Zaporizhia Iron Ore Plant, the Ukrainian Graphite Graphite Electrode Manufacturer, the Zaporozhye Aluminum Plant, and the Titanium and Magnesium Plant.
Before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine the region produced a quarter of all electricity in Ukraine. The famous Dneproges is located in Zaporizhia, the Zaporizhia Thermal Power Station (TPP) and the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) – the largest in Europe.
If we talk about the size of these regions, then Donetsk and Lugansk occupy an area of 26 thousand square kilometers, the Kherson region 28 thousand square km, and Zaporizhia 27 thousand square km.
Population Growth
With the annexation of these territories to the Russian Federation, the country’s population will increase by six million people. In the future, and when the refugees begin to return, the total population of the new areas could increase to nine million people, while some experts estimate it at eight million people.
