Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the country will consider imposing export restrictions in retaliation to global sanctions, which may include titanium, uranium, and nickel.  

Owing to the Russian-Ukraine war, geopolitical pressures have been mounting for countries to remove dependence on Russian raw material supply. There have also been sanctions against Russian producers, with the most recent US sanctions targeting 400 entities. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed that Moscow considers imposing export restrictions on uranium, titanium, and nickel.

Russia is the third-largest producer of titanium sponge after China and Japan and has dominated the production of aerospace-grade titanium sponge since Russia-based VSMPO-Avisma diversified its supply chain to Western companies in the 1990s. The company has become the cornerstone of aerospace-grade titanium production, supplying titanium to major firms like Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer. As it stands, Europe is still reliant on Russian titanium, whereas the USA has made significant strides to move away from Russian supply, sourcing titanium sponge from Japan and Saudi Arabia.  Despite the implementation of sanctions against VSMPO-Avisma, Canada has allowed exemptions for Airbus to import Russian titanium. This continued dependence stems from the lengthy certification process for new titanium sources as well as the limited global capacity growth for aerospace-grade titanium.    

The aerospace industry is set to see large-scale growth over the next decade, driven by the rapid recovery of the travel industry. However, commercial aviation deliveries are facing significant backlogs owing to supply chain disruption and safety investigations that have caused delivery delays. To stimulate domestic titanium supply, the USA is funding projects through the DoD and DoE. Additionally, the USA has strategically aligned itself with Japan to procure critical raw materials, as Japan aims to increase titanium capacity. China is also planning to build titanium capacity, with Zhenhua Titanium announcing the development of aerospace-grade titanium sponge. These measures represent vital steps towards removing dependence on Russian titanium, however, Russia continues to make a substantial contribution to the market, especially in Europe. Russian restrictions on exports will therefore have a global impact in the short- to medium-term as aerospace-grade capacity is built out in Japan and China, potentially limiting the growth of the commercial aviation industry and crippling air travel over the next decade.