Russia’s ability to fund its invasion of Ukraine could take a huge hit as Saudi Arabia continues to increase its oil output.
Riyadh has indicated that oil prices could drop to $50 (£38.30) a barrel at a time when Russia is reliant on oil sales to keep its economy afloat.
Luke Cooper, a research fellow at the London School of Economics, wrote for IPS Journal: “With Russia already selling its oil at discounted rates and with higher production costs, a low-price environment in oil markets may impact its ability to finance its aggression in Ukraine.”
The expert added that Russia is “poorly equipped to deal with low-price conditions.”
Saudi Arabia has previously aimed for crude prices to stay above $100 (£76.61), and even urged other OPEC member states to cut their output.
Simon Henderson, director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, told Business Insider: “Saudi Arabia is fed up. Leadership of OPEC is a multifaceted responsibility. It can work well, but it’s also like herding cats — pretty damn impossible, at least some of the time.”
Russia has relied on sales of its natural resources, including oil, to fund its war in Ukraine as well as prop up the wider economy.
In fact, statistics have shown that Western allies of Ukraine are still purchasing Russian resources despite sanctions placed on Moscow in 2022.
The Treasury in the UK has investigated more than 50 UK-linked companies for breaching the sanctions regime.
The BBC obtained figures via a Freedom of Information request that showed the Government has launched 60 investigations in total.
Sir Bill Browder, an anti-corruption campaigner, told the PA news agency: “The UK has a great record on creating laws and a terrible record on enforcing those laws, whether they be economic crime laws or sanctions laws.
“The US has prosecuted multiple people, there are people sitting in prison, there are fines being issued, and the UK is still spinning its wheels.”
