Russian Oil Continues To Fund Putin's Bloody Ukraine Invasion

Despite predictions of doom for the heavily sanctioned Russian economy, nearly two months into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, his country’s oil exports to Europe and nations like India and Turkey have actually risen, and its financial sector is so far avoiding a serious liquidity crisis, Michael Hirsh claimed in a recent report for Foreign Policy.

Photo Insert: Russia's oil exports to Europe and nations like India and Turkey have actually risen.

Sanctions may work in the long run, experts say, but for now, many of the same countries that are sanctioning Russia are still seriously undercutting their efforts by buying energy from it—in some cases in even larger amounts during April than in March.

“Putin is continuing to make at least a billion dollars a day selling oil and gas, and the lion’s share is from Europe,” said Edward Fishman, a former Europe specialist at the State Department.

“Individual European countries are sending military assistance to Ukraine but it’s dwarfed by payments they’re making to Russia for oil and gas.”

However, Russia has been losing markets and offering hefty discounts for oil, with some reports saying the price has slid to $34 per barrel, which reduces the cash that goes to Moscow.

Russia’s demanding to be paid in rubles has also caused up to 38 million barrels of its oil to have no takers. Worse, cargo ships have refused to load oil and gas for fear of being slapped with sanctions.

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