The price of war will become unbearable for Putin. “Dramatic problems” of Moscow

The Russian economy is beginning to struggle with “some dramatic problems” and there is a likelihood that the economic pressure will become unbearable for Vladimir Putin, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha on Wednesday on Platform X. The pressure should continue to grow, he added.

“There is a deficit in the Russian budget and it is time to increase sanctions pressure. There is now a real possibility that the price of continuing the war will become unbearable for the Kremlin. Data show that despite the efforts of the Russian government to mitigate the impact of sanctions, the Russian economy is starting to face some dramatic problems, entering a recession,” wrote Sybiha.

He noted that in the period January-November, Russia's federal budget deficit reached a record level of $54 billion, and by the end of the year it may exceed $70 billion. According to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for the first time since Russia began the full invasion of Ukraine, the consolidated deficit of Russian regions reached $1.5 billion, compared to last year's surplus of $12 billion.

The head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Russia's income from energy is decreasing. In November 2025, oil and gas revenues fell by 34%. compared to November 2024, which resulted in a reduction of Russia's budget by USD 3.5 billion. Therefore, Moscow is forced to raise taxes, in particular to introduce “a very sensitive VAT increase, as well as limit subsidies for small and medium-sized enterprises, which leads to further recession and affects its endemically corrupt economy,” he noted.

According to Sybiha, while the Russian population becomes poorer and more vulnerable, the Russian leader's allies continue to profit from the war. “By refusing to end his brutal and senseless aggression against Ukraine, Putin is plunging Russia, once a thriving economy with a high standard of living, into a deep recession worse than the one it experienced in the 1990s.” – said the minister.

Sybiha emphasized that sanctions against Russia are working. “The pressure must continue to increase. There is a possibility that the economic pressure will become unbearable for Putin. He does not count the thousands of soldiers he kills every day to gain additional square meters of Ukrainian territory. However, he is guarding the money that belongs to him personally and to his associates,” he noted.

According to Sybiha, the G7, the EU and the US still have a lot of tools they can use. “For now, sanctions have been imposed on only 20 percent of the entire Russian military-industrial complex. Restrictions should cover the rest. Russia should be deprived of all access to technology, because it uses them to produce means of terror. All loopholes enabling the circumvention of sanctions should be closed. Russia's income from energy can and should be further limited,” said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ukrainian minister stressed that the EU should continue to impose tariffs and other trade restrictions to further reduce imports from Russia and replace them with other sources. In addition, personal sanctions should also be tightened.

From Kiev Iryna Hirnyk (PAP)

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