Russian president Vladimir Putin's recent directive to create a comprehensive roadmap for rare earth element (REE) extraction by December 2025 (as reported by Russian media outlet TASS, cited in Politico) signals Moscow's intent to muscle in on the critical minerals market. These 17 elements are indispensable components, used in varied industries in the modern-day world, ranging from smartphones and defense systems to wind turbines and Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries. With Russia housing the world's fifth-l ...