Despite Western sanctions, Russia managed to significantly increase its revenues from oil and gas sales last year.
In 2024, they rose by more than 26 percent to 11.13 trillion rubles (about 107 billion euros), according to government data published on Monday. In 2023, revenues fell by 24 percent due to lower oil prices and declining gas exports.
Funding for the war in Ukraine
Over the past decade, the sale of oil and gas has always been the main source of money for the Kremlin, which is also used to finance the war of aggression against Ukraine, which has now lasted almost three years. They accounted for about one-third to one-half of total budget revenues.
After the new American sanctions against the Russian oil trade, there are increasing calls in the West to further cut off the money supply to the Kremlin through tougher action. Six EU countries called on the European Commission to tighten the price ceiling for Russian oil, which was decided by the G7 countries. The current upper limit of 60 dollars (approximately 59 euros) per barrel must be lowered.
Trade with China at record levels
An important buyer of Russian oil and gas is China. Despite tightened US sanctions on banks doing business with war-torn Russia, trade between China and Russia reached record levels last year. Imports and exports totaled 1.74 trillion yuan, according to customs data released in Beijing on Monday. Accordingly, trade grew by 2.9 percent compared to 2023. However, in 2023 the growth was even stronger: 32.7 percent.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
