The Kremlin has acknowledged that the new sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump against Russia’s largest oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil — will inevitably affect the revenues of the Russian federal budget. This was reported by a Kremlin-linked official in a comment to Bloomberg.
Source: Gazeta.UA
According to the official, it is currently difficult to assess the full scale of the losses, but Moscow is already looking for ways to minimize the impact of the restrictions — including through a network of intermediary oil traders and the use of the so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers.
The agency notes that Indian oil refineries, which were among the main buyers of Russian crude, are expected to almost completely halt purchases from Rosneft and Lukoil. The Kremlin fears this could deal a serious blow to Russia’s economy and force it to seek new partners on the global market.
Roughly one month remains before the sanctions take effect. During this time, Moscow plans to adapt to the new conditions. One Russian official suggested that Trump might reconsider his decision depending on the outcome of further negotiations with the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already reacted to the U.S. decision, calling the sanctions an “unfriendly act” and claiming that they “damage Russian-American relations.” At the same time, he assured that the measures would not significantly affect the country’s economic well-being.
Konstantin Simonov, head of the Moscow-based National Energy Security Fund, admitted that the sanctions would have an effect but emphasized the difficulty of fully enforcing them. He said that Russia has tools to circumvent the restrictions, so a major drop in exports is not expected.
Experts note that the market is closely monitoring the price dynamics of Urals crude. In October, the price of Russian oil at the Primorsk port remained $12–13 below the benchmark Dated Brent, but this gap has been gradually narrowing at delivery points — indicating growing profits for intermediaries who remain beyond the reach of sanctions.