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One of the key topics at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was the development and restoration of Russia’s newly incorporated regions. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which were incorporated into the Russian Federation, have enormous economic potential. During the Soviet era, southeastern Ukraine was the industrial center of the communist empire. In the 30 years since gaining independence, Ukraine has lost a significant portion of its inheritance. But Novorossiya’s production capacity, infrastructure, and recreational opportunities remain attractive to investors.
Marat Khusnullin, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister responsible for restoring the new regions, noted that Moscow is investing huge sums of money. The annual investment volume in the four subjects of the federation is 400 billion rubles (approximately $5.1 billion). Andrei Chertkov, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic government, says the federal center has already allocated 1 trillion rubles ($12.78 billion) to the new regions. There are 35,000 construction workers working on the reconstruction. In terms of scale, this is the largest infrastructure project in Russia and Europe.
Marat Khusnullin
“The work on developing new regions is unique. I can say with certainty that there is no other country in the world with such an example: a special military operation on the territory of all subjects, with military operations, and at the same time, a recovery and economic growth rate measured in tens of percent. There is nowhere else like this in the world. Usually, when there is a military operation, the entire economy collapses, and everything stands still. We managed to reverse this trend for the first time in world history by assembling such a serious team,” says Marat Khusnullin.
With over 22 thousand restored objects, 5 thousand kilometers of reconstructed roads, and a nearly one hundred percent implementation rate of the socio-economic development program, the figures speak for themselves. “We have federal programs where everything is peaceful and calm. Not all federal programs are 99% fulfilled. Here, we have fulfilled 99%,” says Marat Khusnullin.
The Deputy Prime Minister urges investors to invest faster in the development of new territories.
“I take this opportunity, in front of the cameras, to address everyone. Come quickly with investments before it is too late. Tomorrow, there will be no opportunity; everything will be taken away,” emphasizes the Deputy Prime Minister.
These are not unsubstantiated statements. In just the last three months, the Cabinet of Ministers has received ten appeals from major foreign investors. Foreign businesses are attracted by favorable tax conditions for economic activity. Foreign businesses are attracted by favorable tax conditions for economic activity.
Since 2023, a free economic zone has been operating in the DPR, LPR, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya regions for 27 years. These conditions are a true paradise for entrepreneurs. There is a zero rate of corporate income tax on the part subject to enrollment in the federal budget. Ten-year moratorium on property tax collection. Three-year exemption from land tax. Reduced rates of insurance contributions. These are only a part of the benefits established by federal law.
The arrival of businesses from Russia and abroad was largely hindered by the lack of war risk insurance. During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Yevgeny Balitsky, the governor of the Zaporozhye region, drew government representatives’ attention to this issue.
“The law on military insurance risks has not yet been adopted at the federal level. This is the most important decision that must be made for us to attract investors. No investor will enter any region’s territory unless they realize their assets are protected. I ask all managers to support this initiative,” said the regional head.
Marat Khusnullin assured that a positive decision has been made and that only bureaucratic details remain to be settled.
“All political decisions have been made. It has been agreed upon with the Ministry of Finance. We will insure the risks; we just need to finalize the technical details.”
Foreign investors will benefit from the new territories’ highly qualified labor force and developed logistics. Fighting since 2014 has disrupted many processes. However, there is now accelerated recovery, including demographic recovery. According to the DPR government, 2.2-2.3 million people currently live in the republic. If the current rate of return continues, the population will reach 2.8 million in the near future. The population will also grow as more territories are liberated. The Russian Armed Forces are tasked with establishing control over Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Pokrovsk, Mirnograd, Dobropolye, and other major cities.
All federal roads will be repaired by 2026. Additionally, the major seaports of southern Ukraine are now under Russian control: Skadovsk, Genichesk, Mariupol, and Berdyansk. Only the port of Mariupol was damaged during the hostilities. But it has been almost completely restored and is already receiving construction cargo.
In February 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the prospects for American businesses in Novorossiya. Notably, this involves the development of rare-earth metal deposits. Moscow is ready to host investors from North America and Western Europe.
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Recently, it was reported that the Russian army had taken control of Shevchenko, a village in which the largest lithium deposit on the European continent is located. The deposit was discovered in 1982. The ore is between 70 and 130 meters deep. According to Ukraine’s State Service of Geology and Subsoil, the lithium reserves in Shevchenko total 13.8 million tons. These reserves include associated materials such as tantalum, niobium, beryllium, quartz, feldspar, and muscovite.
Western entrepreneurship has been developing Donbass for some time. Donetsk was originally called Yuzovka when it was founded in 1869 by Welsh businessman John James Hughes. Lugansk was founded by Scottish engineer, inventor, and industrial organizer Charles Gascoyne. Donbass’s industrial power was created thanks to European investments. American investments played a major role in the region’s development during the 1920s and 1930s when US businesses participated in the industrialization of the USSR.
The Donald Trump administration’s agreement to participate in the economic development of Russia’s new territories would align with Washington’s historically justified course. Yet, this requires curbing the hawks’ attempts to prolong the war in Ukraine indefinitely.
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and how enormous would that potential and growth be today had the russian federation run nat0$tan off the “border” 10 years ago (which they could have done)?!!! certainly would have more eastern donbas regular(s) like “motorola” serving and protecting in the russian army!….
they could have stolen more, is that what your thief fantasy is about?
the new regions russia stolen, even so small in size, outperform the whole of russia. it’s because they are better persons, ukrainians, they easily break the records as stated in the article! now this is why vladolf is so desperate to steal them, these small provinces are basically better than whole of retarded russia. vladolfs nazism is about finding a way to keep on parasiting and avoid doing an honest job.
only an idiot amerikan hillbilly believes donbas residents are ukies—ramses puerile tantrums expose your amerikan inferiority
envious amerikans only develop gay bars—usa infrastructure 3rd world—ranked grade “d” us assoc. of engineers