$40 per Barrel of Oil, Strikes on Refineries, and “Cancel Russia”: Expert Offers a Recipe for Crippling Russia’s Economy

Political expert and serviceman Oleksandr Musiienko explained that thanks to EU sanctions and the work of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the outlook for Russia’s economy is bleak—but more needs to be done: “cancel Russia,” reports Politeka.

He shared this in his blog:

“Price caps on oil have started to take effect—right now the price stands at $47 per barrel. These are sanctions from the EU’s 18th package against Russia. Previously, the ceiling on Russian oil was $60 per barrel, so that’s a $13 reduction. Ideally, the maximum price should be $45 per barrel—$2 lower than today. And $40 per barrel would be perfect, because that would directly hit Russia’s budget, which is based on $65–70 per barrel,” Musiienko stressed.

According to economic forecasts, he said, Russia’s budget deficit is already sharply increasing this year and will lead to serious problems for Putin by the end of 2025; projections for 2026 are also far from optimistic. However, the expert notes, sanctions alone would not damage Russia’s economy so severely if not for Ukraine’s successful strikes on Russian oil refineries, which have cost the industry 15–20% of its capacity and created a fuel shortage.

Russia’s total crude oil processing output, he reports, has now fallen to 5.1 million barrels per day—well below the previous 5.6 million. Still, the expert adds, the Russians are softening the impact by buying oil from Belarus, since, unfortunately, the Mozyr refinery works for Putin.

“And of course, sanctions and strikes alone are not enough—we also need India and other countries to refuse to buy Russian oil, to reject and simply block it. Cancel Russia. I keep emphasizing, and won’t tire of saying, that all resources flowing from Russia must be sanctioned and banned. Some European states, unfortunately, still continue to rely on Kremlin raw materials and need to stop indulging Moscow,” Musiienko concluded.

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