Russia is making less and less money selling its oil. In addition, the Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, which entered a new phase on Sunday, seem to be having an effect.

Russian petroleum products such as diesel and kerosene are now subject to an import ban within the European Union.

Because of the sanctions from the West, more oil remains to be shipped overseas. However, Russia only gets rid of these cargoes at hefty discounts. Despite a growth in the amount of oil exported by sea, revenues are still falling.

The total amount of oil shipped by sea rose by 125,000 barrels per day in recent weeks. This number is the highest since June. But this increase was almost entirely offset by a contraction in the amount of Russian petroleum transported via oil pipelines to Germany and Poland. It reached 120,000 barrels per day last month, compared to 510,000 barrels per day last summer.

Russian oil revenues, which Moscow can use to finance the war in Ukraine, fell by $7 million to $50 million last week.

The countries of the European Union have not been importing crude oil from Russia since December 5. And now, this also applies to petroleum products from Russia, such as diesel and kerosene. However, last month, Russian oil did go to India and China, among others.