The Russian economy has been stuttering as the financial burden of the nearly four-year assault on Ukraine and ensuing Western sanctions have pushed up inflation and weighed on growth.

Russian state coffers depend on sales of oil and gas, but its energy sites, including oil depots and refineries, have also taken a hit from retaliatory Ukrainian drone strikes.

In 2025, sales of Russian oil and gas generated nearly 8.467 trillion rubles (US$108.6 billion) — the lowest level since 2020 — and a 24% decrease compared to the year before.

The country’s oil and gas sectors have been subject to numerous European and US sanctions since Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine in 2022.

They also suffered from lower-than-expected fuel prices.

At the end of October 2025, as a way to pressure Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, the US added Russia’s two largest oil producers, Lukoil and Rosneft, to its blacklist of sanctioned entities.

But Russia continues to sell significant quantities of its oil and gas to its partners, such as China, India and Turkey, including through channels that experts say circumvent Western sanctions.