Information on current Russian losses due to sanctions as of 06.03.2026.
1. Chinese businesses are rapidly increasing their presence in Russian online trading.
– In 2025, every fifth new online business in Russia was created with the involvement of Chinese citizens.
– The number of Chinese company registrations in the e-commerce segment doubled in a year, and the total number of Chinese companies operating in the online trading sector in Russia increased by 2.4 times.
– Overall, in 2025, the number of new companies with Chinese involvement grew by 35%, while the number of new Russian LLCs decreased by 21%. In 2023–2025, the registration of Chinese companies in Russia increased by 86% — the highest growth among foreign businesses.
– Chinese entrepreneurs open over 400 new companies and individual enterprises in the country each month.
– More than half of the new enterprises with Chinese involvement are e-commerce companies. The most of these businesses are registered in Moscow and the Moscow region — 51.4%.
2. Russia provides Iran with intelligence for targeting missiles and drones at American military facilities in the Middle East.
– Moscow provides Tehran with information about the location of American military facilities, including US ships and aircraft.
– This may be the first evidence of Russia’s indirect involvement in the Middle East conflict. Meanwhile, the scale of military assistance remains unclear. The ability of Iranian forces to detect American forces independently has decreased since the beginning of the war.
– Experts on Russian military forces at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace note that Iran is delivering very precise strikes on early warning radars.
– Tehran, however, has only a few military satellites and lacks a full satellite grouping, making Russian satellite imagery particularly valuable.
3. The US is trying to persuade China to reduce purchases of Russian oil and increase imports of energy resources from the United States.
– This issue may become one of the topics of negotiations between Washington and Beijing ahead of the planned meeting of the presidents of the two countries.
– U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is considering raising the energy topic during talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. The meeting might take place in mid-March in Paris and will be a preparatory step for the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
– Washington aims to convince Beijing to reduce its dependency on oil from countries the U.S. considers strategic adversaries, primarily Russia, and instead increase purchases of American oil and gas. According to sources, Bessent has already discussed this possibility during consultations with former U.S. officials, business representatives, and analysts.
– China remains one of the largest buyers of Russian oil after the onset of the full-scale war against Ukraine.
4. Indian oil refining companies have urgently started purchasing Russian oil amid supply disruptions caused by tensions surrounding Iran.
– State refineries have already bought about 20 million barrels of crude with delivery in March – early April, trying to offset a potential import shortfall.
– This concerns contracts of the state companies Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals. Some deals are concluded in an expedited manner, including deliveries from tankers already at sea.
– India remains particularly vulnerable to energy shocks: its strategic reserves cover only about 25 days of domestic demand, while approximately 40% of oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where risks for shipping persist.
– Under such conditions, the price of Russian Urals oil for Indian buyers has sharply changed. While in February, it was sold at a discount of about $13 per barrel, now some batches are traded at a premium of $4–5 to the Brent benchmark on delivery terms.
– This indicates a short-term deficit of accessible crude on the market due to logistics disruptions.
– Meanwhile, the U.S. has allowed India to temporarily purchase Russian oil already on tankers at sea. According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the permit will be valid for 30 days and only applies to operations with shipments already loaded, so it is not expected to bring significant financial benefit to the Russian budget.
5. China has begun negotiations with Iran to ensure the safe passage of tankers with oil and Qatari liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz.
– Beijing is trying to persuade Iranian authorities to resume transit through a key maritime route, which has effectively been blocked due to fighting.
– The US and Israel’s war against Iran, now in its sixth day, has practically paralyzed movement through the strait, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass.
– China, which receives approximately 45% of imported oil through this route, is one of the most vulnerable to disruptions and is pressuring Tehran to guarantee safe shipping.
– Due to the conflict, oil prices have already risen by more than 15%, as Iranian strikes on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf and attacks on ships have destabilized supplies.
– Ship tracking data shows that tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz has sharply declined: on March 1, only four ships passed through it versus an average of about 24 per day in January. Meanwhile, approximately 300 oil tankers have accumulated in the strait area, waiting for the opportunity to proceed.
– Currently, only occasional ships, mostly connected with China or Iran, are passing through the strait. Iran has previously stated it will not allow passage of ships linked to the US, Israel, European countries, and their allies, effectively turning one of the world’s most important energy routes into a tool of geopolitical pressure.
6. Isolated and under fire: Iran strikes as Russia and China stand aside.
– Moscow and Beijing’s restraint in assisting Tehran is explained by pragmatic calculation. Direct intervention in the conflict between Iran, Israel, and the US would mean significant costs, limited benefits, and high unpredictable risks for both states.
– For the Kremlin, the priority remains the war against Ukraine. For Russia, it would be unwise to enter direct military confrontation with the United States, as this would sharply increase the risk level for a country already involved in a large-scale war.
– A source close to Russian authorities also acknowledges that the escalation around Iran and in the Persian Gulf area effectively distracts international attention from the war against Ukraine.
– Meanwhile, Moscow is not considering direct intervention, despite partnership relations with Tehran.
– As a result, a kind of paradox is forming: Iran remains a strategically useful partner for both Russia and China, but not significant enough for these countries to be willing to risk direct military confrontation with the West for its support.
7. The US plans to extend the sanctions exemption for the German division of the Russian company “Rosneft” to avoid disruptions in Germany’s oil refining industry.
– It concerns the company Rosneft Deutschland, which holds shares in three oil refineries in Germany, including the PCK refinery in the town of Schwedt near Berlin. Together, these assets account for about 12% of the country’s refining capacity.
– The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control may announce an extension of the sanctions exemption soon. The decision is intended to prevent disruptions at German refineries amid instability in the global energy market.
– Rosneft Deutschland’s assets have been under the control of the German government since 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
– Initially, the U.S. gave Berlin a six-month period to resolve the issue of ownership, but finding a buyer has been complicated.
– Germany is also trying to avoid nationalizing these enterprises, fearing possible retaliatory measures from Moscow against German companies that continue to operate in Russia.
