Russia will feel the pain immediately. CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan asked US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent whether Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin's envoy, was correct in claiming that American sanctions would have "absolutely no effect on Russia's economy. They will simply lead to higher prices at gas stations in the United States."
On 24 October, Dmitriev visited the US against the backdrop of US sanctions imposed on Russian oil companies and debates over supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv.
"Margaret, are you really going to- the- publish what a Russian propagandist says? I mean, what else is he going to say?" Bessent replied.
Near-zero growth and inflation above 20%
The Russian economy is a wartime economy. Growth is virtually zero, and inflation is over 20%. Oil is what finances Russia’s war machine.
“Well, I think Russia is going to feel the pain immediately. I can tell you that we've already seen India has done a complete halt of Russian oil purchases. Many of the Chinese refineries have stopped,” Bessent explained.
He added that the Russian claim of "having immunized the economy against this" is not true.
Bessent noted that Russia’s oil revenues have dropped by 20% compared to last year.
“Their oil earnings are down 20% year over year. I would suspect that this could take them down another 20 or 30%,” he said.
Russian oil remains a key source of revenue that funds its military aggression against Ukraine. In 2025, profits from the oil and gas sector account for about 77.7% of Russia’s federal budget.
According to the International Liberty Institute, the main buyers of Russian oil remain Asian countries, as European markets are largely restricted by sanctions.
