Ukraine's presidential office estimates Russian losses from sanctions
Photo: Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Advisor and Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy (Vitalii Nosach/RBC-Ukraine)
Russia's losses from sanctions have already reached hundreds of billions of dollars. Still, the country continues to earn significant amounts of money, allowing it to sustain its ongoing military aggression against Ukraine, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Advisor and Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, tells in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
"Basically, they (Russia – ed.) have said goodbye to 300 billion dollars of sovereign assets. Plus, 200 billion dollars that Russia did not earn from energy exports. Gazprom has become unprofitable. These are significant figures, but Russia is still earning up to 20 billion dollars a month just from crude oil exports. That's a lot," Vlasiuk said.
Discussing Russia's losses, Vlasuk also noted that profits from gas sales had decreased, leading to a drop in Gazprom's capitalization. The National Wealth Fund has been almost spent. In addition, some macroeconomic indicators have worsened.
"The Central Bank's interest rate is 21%. Why? Because they are saving the economy from overheating. Why is it overheating? Because they are flooding the defense industry with money and underfunding other sectors. There are macroeconomic indicators that are more pleasing to us and others that are less so," the Ukrainian advisor remarked.
At the same time, Vlasiuk emphasized that Russia's military budget remains substantial.
"For next year, they have allocated $140-160 billion for military needs in the budget, plus another similar amount hidden in other sections for the same purposes," said the Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy.
Sanctions against Russia
Earlier, the UK imposed sanctions against Russia's Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Troops and their leader, Igor Kirillov. These measures are linked to accusations of chemical weapons use on Ukrainian territory.
For the first time, sanctions also targeted vessels from Russia's "shadow fleet," which, according to British authorities, help circumvent Western restrictions on oil exports. Eleven ships have been added to the sanctions list, including the Amurskiy Zaliv and SCF Pechora, which transport Russian oil to third countries.
