US says sanctions against Russia are the most they can do
23 July 2025 11:54
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said that imposing sanctions on Russian oil is the most effective measure the US can take to end the war in Ukraine. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Reuters.
US President Donald Trump said earlier that Washington could impose 100 percent tariffs on Russian oil buyers and other sanctions if Moscow does not agree to a large-scale peace deal with Ukraine. The deadline for this decision expires in early September.
“This is a huge pressure on Russia. This is the most pressure we can put on them,”
– wright said.
The US is the world leader in oil and gas production, which, according to Wright, allows America to take measures that were previously unthinkable.
“We can do things we couldn’t do before,” he said,
– he said.
Despite these opportunities, the Trump administration has not yet imposed large-scale oil sanctions on Russia, favoring sanctions against OPEC member Iran since Trump returned to power in January.
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How to hurt Russia
It is well known that Russia is critically dependent on its energy exports. First and foremost, on oil exports. In 2024, the federal budget revenues from oil sales amounted to 9.19 trillion rubles (approximately $89.4 billion). Total budget revenues for this period amounted to 36.71 trillion rubles. Thus, the share of oil revenues in the total structure of Russian budget revenues in 2024 was approximately 25%
This indicates that, despite international sanctions and attempts to diversify revenue sources, oil remains a key source of financing for the Russian budget.
Russian Urals oil is traditionally sold at a lower price than Brent and WTI, and it is also subject to additional factors that raw materials from other countries do not experience, namely Western sanctions. However, during all three years of the full-scale war with Ukraine, Russia has been successfully selling its oil – its main buyers today are China and India.
The federal budget of the Russian Federation for 2025 included an oil price of $70. Meanwhile, due to the collapse in the global oil market caused by Donald Trump ‘s trade war and OPEC’s decision to further increase production, the price of Russian Urals oil, according to the Ministry of Finance, was $65.15 per barrel on July 23.
So far, market analysts’ forecasts do not promise Russia any serious problems related to the price of oil, as it still has a very large backlash for sales. According to economic expert Oleg Pendzin, even a price of $50 per barrel is still acceptable for Russia.
“Currently, the direct cost of Russian oil production is about $37-38 per barrel. This is the direct cost. The critical figure for Russia is the sales price of $45,”
– the economist explained exclusively for .
So the more likely way to hurt Russia over oil is still to increase sanctions, including secondary sanctions against its buyers. The point of this step is to make it physically impossible for Russia to sell large volumes of oil and thus receive funds to continue its aggressive war of aggression.
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