Russia earns additional 6 billion euros in fossil fuel revenue as oil prices soar amid US-Iran war, analysis finds
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Russia has earned an additional 6 billion euros ($6.9 billion) in two weeks of fighting between the U.S. and Iran, a March 12 analysis by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found.
The additional fossil fuel earnings of 510 million euros ($588 million) a day are enough for Russia to purchase 17,000 Shahed drones every 24 hours at a cost of $35,000 per unit, the analysis by the CREA and published by German non-profit Urgewald found.
With the U.S. considering easing sanctions on Russian oil, Urgewald warns that such a move would grant Moscow a "significant financial windfall" as Russia continues to wage its war against Ukraine.
"This is a political choice. Governments can hold the line on sanctions, or they can signal that if energy prices rise high enough, the West will always find a reason to blink. That choice will not just prolong Ukrainian suffering. It will undermine the security of Europe as a whole," Alexander Kirk, Sanctions Campaigner at Urgewald, said.
Russia regularly sends out Shahed-type drones in mass attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. Early on March 7, Russia launched 480 drones, including Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev held talks with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida on March 11, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced, as the White House is considering easing sanctions on Russian oil to lower global oil prices, which spiked sharply after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
Ukraine's allies have imposed sanctions against Russian energy in an effort to curb Moscow's ability to wage war.
