While everyone is focused on Iran, Russia is quietly continuing to rake it in month after month as a result of the war of choice President Trump decided to launch. Secretary Scott Bessent only further aided in this by authorizing ridiculous sanctions waivers on Russian energy products, allowing them to be sold at far higher prices. But how MUCH has Russia been able to increase their revenues, and what is the likelihood they will continue to do so in the future? Last month, I published an op-ed in The Hill titled, "Washington’s self-induced energy crisis leaves Moscow as the only option". In this piece, I address the harsh reality that, as a result of the global energy supply shock, it is highly unlikely (despite Bessent's comments, which have proved to be... unreliable) that the United States will allow the sanctions waiver GL-134B to expire without, once again, being renewed. As a result of the rapid increase in prices in the global energy markets, the unsanctioning of certain Russian energy products, and no end in sight for the Iran War, Russia has seen their oil and gas tax revenues increase by more than DOUBLE. In January 2026, Russian oil and gas tax revenues reached their lowest point in 6 years (source: Russian Finance Ministry), at a paltry $5.3B. February was not much better, only bringing in $5.83B. But then the United States attacked Iran on February 28th, and here we can see the impact that the unsanctioning of Russian energy from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and rapidly rising global energy prices really drive up Russia's ability to replenish their war chest. In March, immediately following the US/Iran conflict kicking off, Russia saw their oil and gas tax revenues rise to $8.32B, a 56.98% increase compared to January. April only got worse, with Russia bringing in $11.53B in oil and gas tax revenues, earning more than January and February COMBINED. Then, just a few days ago, Russia announced that it would raise the price used to calculate their revenues from a price of $77/barrel in April, to $95/barrel in May. This equates to an increased revenue of 23.4% per barrel. Projecting for the month of May, Russian is now projected to earn around $14.23B, an increase of 168.5% compared to revenues earned prior to the conflict in January. The unfortunate reality the world is now faced with, is that the United States is likely to continue extending, or perhaps even EXPANDING, the Russian sanctions waiver for at least the next several months until the mid terms, all while Russia is seeing a rapid replenishment of their war chest that will only further enable them to wage their war of aggression against Ukraine. thehill.com/opinion/energy…
