Russia may be left without money for the war: who and why is fed up with Putin

In Saudi Arabia, there is growing dissatisfaction with the violation of oil production quotas by other countries (including Russia). Against this backdrop, Riyadh plans to dramatically increase the production of "black gold," which could deprive the Kremlin of funds to finance the war in Ukraine.

Politico writes about this. Experts say that the Saudis intend to expand their share of the oil market to increase profits despite the general decline in prices for this resource.

This could collapse oil prices, whose exports have remained the largest source of income for the Russian state over the past decade and accounted for almost half of the aggressor country's budget, experts say. And Saudi Arabia is well aware that Russian companies are not fulfilling the requirements to reduce production. At the current exchange rate, a drop in oil prices by $20 per barrel will cut Russian budget revenues by 1.8 trillion rubles, which is equivalent to $20 billion, or 1% of the aggressor country's GDP.

"The government will have to choose: either cut spending, which is unlikely during a war, or accept inflationary pressures and stiflingly high interest rates," analysts say.

Oil market experts do not doubt the huge production and export potential of Saudi Arabia. This gives Riyadh a real opportunity to change its tactics to expand its market dominance through volumes.

"The global economy is rather sluggish, and the oil demand is not as high as the Saudis would like. Some producers, including Russia, are constantly exceeding their quotas, so this means that prices are far from $100 per barrel, and the Saudis are losing patience. This would be one way for the Saudis to send a warning shot to the market that they will act," explained Ajay Parmar, director of oil market analysis at ICIS, a commodities analysis company.

OBOZ.UA also reported that Russia's ability to finance its war against Ukraine depends on the price of oil. Earlier, former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov claimed that a decline in oil prices would be a much stronger blow to Russia than sanctions. In particular, if the price of "black gold" falls to $40 per barrel within a year, Vladimir Putin's dictatorial regime will not have enough money to wage war against Ukraine.

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