Sybiha: Russia's budget in red, time to tighten sanctions

Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha stated this on X, Ukrinform reports.

"The Russian budget is in the red, and it's time to ramp up sanctions pressure. There is now a real possibility of making the cost of continuing the war unbearable for the Kremlin," he said.

According to him, despite efforts by the Russian government to mitigate the impact of sanctions, Russia's economy is beginning to face "some dramatic issues" and is entering a recession.

In this context, Sybiha noted that from January to November the federal budget deficit of Russia reached a record $54 billion, with a trend toward exceeding $70 billion by the end of the year. For the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the consolidated deficit of Russian regions reached $1.5 billion, compared with a surplus of $12 billion last year. Russia's energy revenues are declining: oil and gas revenues in November 2025 fell by 34% compared to November 2024.

"This alone has cut $3.5 billion from Russia's budget. Moscow is forced to raise taxes, including a highly sensitive VAT increase, and cut SMEs' subsidies, resulting in further recession and the shadowing of its endemically corrupt economy," Sybiha emphasized.

He also stressed that the sanctions policy of the transatlantic community, implemented since 2022, has been and remains strategically justified and effective. In this context, Sybiha said pressure must continue, as there is a real likelihood that economic pressure will become unbearable for Putin.

"The G7, the EU, and the United States still have a lot of leverage they can use. Only 20% of the entire Russian military-industrial complex is currently sanctioned…Russia must be deprived of any access to technology, as it uses it to produce means of terror... Russia's energy revenues can and should be reduced further. The EU should continue imposing tariffs and other trade restrictions to further cut imports from Russia and replace them with other sources. Personal sanctions must be tightened as well. Together, we absolutely can stop the Russian War Machine by running it out of fuel. Let's do this now," the foreign minister urged.

As Ukrinform reported, U.S. senators have prepared a bipartisan bill that envisages sanctions for purchasing or facilitating the import of oil and petroleum products from Russia.