Russia's oil and gas revenues keep shrinking
Illustrative photo: Russian economy gradually losing source of windfall profits (Russian media)
Russia has been forced to admit that the era of super profits from oil and gas is over. Vladimir Putin's unwillingness to end the war against Ukraine continues to destroy the Russian economy, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Finance has acknowledged that oil and gas revenues will decline in both the medium and long term. In particular, in 2026, the share of oil and gas revenues in the budget will fall to 23%, whereas in 2022 it exceeded 50%.
"Officially, this is explained by the depletion of low-cost hydrocarbon reserves, avoiding the topic of the war against Ukraine. However, it is the war and sanctions that have hit oil and gas revenues the hardest," the statement says.
In 2025, Russia was forced to trade oil and gas at the break-even point, or even at a loss, in order to sell it. Western markets have been lost due to the war against Ukraine, so Russia is forced to sell oil to India and China. And these two refuse to buy it unless they get a discount of 50% or more.
"Unwilling to end the war against Ukraine, the Kremlin is destroying the economic foundation of the Russian Federation of recent years with its own hands," the agency concludes.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russian Railways has been cutting investments for the third year in a row due to the war and sanctions. In particular, the investment program for 2026 has been reduced by almost a fifth, which demonstrates the recognition of a management failure.
In general, the Russian economy has virtually stalled due to the Kremlin's war against Ukraine. At the end of 2025, the lowest GDP growth since 2023 was recorded, indicating that the economy is entering stagnation.
Russian statistical authorities officially recorded a decline in industrial production in the country in November 2025. But Russia is still holding on. For more details on what is wrong with the Russian economy and who is keeping it afloat, read the RBC-Ukraine's article.
