Information on the current losses of Russia due to sanctions as of 29.05.2026.
1. On the night of May 29, Ukrainian drones launched a massive attack on Russian fuel and energy infrastructure facilities.
– The Volgograd and Yaroslavl regions, where important enterprises of the Russian oil sector are located, came under attack.
– One of the main targets was the region’s largest oil refinery, “Lukoil-Volgograd Refinery.” The enterprise’s capacity exceeds 15 million tons of oil per year.
– The refinery produces gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, and other petroleum products that are strategically important for Russia’s economy and military logistics. This is at least the tenth attack on the enterprise since the start of the full-scale war. After a strike in February, the plant was forced to completely halt operations.
– Additionally, drones attacked Yaroslavl, where hits were recorded on industrial objects.
2. Another Russian oil port on the Black Sea was hit by Ukrainian drones.
– On the night of May 29, drones attacked the Krasnodar region of Russia and struck the Temryuk oil port, which is an important element of Russia’s fuel sector export infrastructure. A fire broke out after UAV debris fell in the port area.
– This is already the second major Russian port on the Black Sea to catch fire due to drone attacks in just one week. A fire was previously recorded in Novorossiysk, a key Russian oil port through which a significant portion of maritime oil and petroleum product exports pass.
– The Temryuk port has been attacked multiple times. In December 2025, drones struck the facility twice: after one of the attacks, storage tanks with petroleum products caught fire, and the fire covered 2,000 square meters.
– Earlier, the liquefied hydrocarbon gas transshipment terminal, through which Russia and Kazakhstan export raw materials, was also damaged.
3. Ukraine blocks the Russian land corridor to occupied Crimea.
– Ukrainian drones are increasingly undermining the logistics of the Russian army in occupied territories. The federal highway R-280 “Novorossiya,” which Russia uses as a key “land bridge” to occupied Crimea, is effectively under the control of the UAVs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
– This highway is used by the Kremlin to supply weapons, fuel, ammunition, and other cargo for Russian troops on the southern front — in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Now, along the highway, there are more frequently burnt trucks and destroyed equipment following strikes by Ukrainian drones.
– The massive attacks indicate a rapid increase in the capabilities of Ukraine’s drone program and the scale of drone production. Since the beginning of spring, Ukrainian mid-range strikes have significantly weakened the Russian air defense system in the region.
– This has allowed drones to operate almost unhindered over the temporarily occupied territories. Intensified strikes on transport arteries are creating increasing problems for the occupation forces and complicate the supply of resources to Crimea.
4. Russia’s war expenses against Ukraine in 2026 have already exceeded the initial budget plans by at least 2 trillion rubles, or approximately $28 billion.
– The Kremlin is forced to urgently look for additional resources to fund the war. In February, the Ministry of Finance approached the government with a demand to freeze part of civilian expenditures to cover the growing military needs. In the so-called “negative scenario,” the additional deficit due to the war could grow to 4 trillion rubles and persist at least until 2028.
– Despite record spending on defense and security — 16.84 trillion rubles, or nearly 40% of the entire budget — the Russian financial system is increasingly facing a resource deficit. In the first four months of 2026, the federal budget deficit has already reached 5.9 trillion rubles — the highest figure since the start of the full-scale war.
– In effect, the Kremlin is transitioning to a regime of covert sequestration. The government is already demanding cuts in “non-essential” expenses, hitting state procurement, business subsidies, funding for state institutions, and regional programs.
– Social and military expenditures officially remain untouched, which only exacerbates the economic imbalance toward war. The Russian authorities are increasingly reallocating resources in favor of military needs at the expense of the civilian sector.
– This implies further pressure on the regions, businesses, and population of Russia, as well as raising the risks of new taxes, cuts in support programs, and deepening budgetary crisis in the coming years.
5. The Russian industry is increasingly showing signs of exhaustion.
– According to the Russian Central Bank’s data for the first quarter of 2026, the capacity utilization in the investment engineering sector has plummeted to 68% — from 73% at the end of last year. This is the worst figure in the last decade.
– Practically every third machine in the industry is idle. A drop of five percentage points in a quarter indicates not just a temporary slowdown but a systemic crisis.
– It is particularly telling that the problems have affected the investment engineering sector — an industry that manufactures equipment and technological lines for other economic sectors. This sector is supposed to ensure future industrial growth, but now more and more capacities are gathering dust.
– The appearance of stability in the Russian economy is mainly supported by high oil revenues and large-scale government spending, particularly in construction and defense sectors. However, the basic mechanisms of long-term development continue to deteriorate.
– When a third of production lines are idle, the country loses up to one percentage point of potential GDP growth for years to come. The refusal to upgrade equipment and reduce investments means that the Russian economy is not accumulating resources for development but gradually “consuming” the remnants of the old industrial base.
– The silence in the workshops today increasingly resembles not a temporary pause but a symptom of deep degradation of Russian industry, which is losing the ability to maintain its own production without constant infusions of government funds.
6. Russians are sinking deeper into a debt crisis: in 2025, Russian citizens borrowed a record 412 billion rubles from pawnshops — a third more than the previous year, according to the Russian Central Bank.
– For comparison: in 2023, the volume of such loans was 239 billion rubles, indicating a rapid deterioration in the financial situation of the population. Over the year, Russians entered into almost 19 million loan agreements with pawnshops — 13% more than in 2024. Meanwhile, the number of clients increased by only 3% to 2.16 million people.
– This means that many citizens are forced to resort to “quick money” repeatedly, covering old debts with new loans. Almost 95% of all pawnshop transactions were secured by jewelry. Amid rising gold prices, the average loan size increased from 21 thousand to 27 thousand rubles.
– In fact, Russians are increasingly pawning personal valuables to access cash. Even cars, traditionally seen as more serious assets, have begun to be used more frequently as collateral: the volume of such loans increased by 16% over the year.
– The surge in demand for pawnshop services reflects the decline in real incomes of the population, the increase in credit burden, and the intensification of financial pressure within the country.
7. The European Union is increasing pressure on Serbia due to Russians massively moving to the country after the onset of the full-scale war against Ukraine.
– Brussels demands that Belgrade reduce the issuance of residence permits and passports to Russian citizens and align its migration policy with EU standards. The EU insists on reducing the issuance of documents to Russians by at least 50% and threatens consequences, including the possible cancellation of visa-free travel for Serbs.
– Serbia is also being asked to discontinue air connections with Russia, terminate its contract with Gazprom, and implement a visa regime for Russians. The EU fears that Serbia has become a hub for circumventing sanctions: after the start of the war, thousands of Russians moved there for business, opening accounts, and accessing Europe.
– Brussels is increasingly clear that Serbia’s rapprochement with the EU is impossible without distancing from Moscow.
