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Podcast Episode
Carnegie Politika

Putin’s War Engine: How Healthy is Russia’s Oil and Gas Industry? With Sergey Vakulenko

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and leading expert on Russia’s energy sector, to discuss the state of the Russian oil and gas sector, which remains a crucial source of revenue for Putin’s war machine.

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By Alexander Gabuev and Sergey Vakulenko
Published on Sep 18, 2025

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Carnegie Politika is a digital publication that features unmatched analysis and insight on Russia, Ukraine and the wider region. For nearly a decade, Carnegie Politika has published contributions from members of Carnegie’s global network of scholars and well-known outside contributors and has helped drive important strategic conversations and policy debates.

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The Russian oil and gas sector has been under significant pressure this year, but has continued to withstand sanctions. Recently, however, Ukraine has launched a series of massive drone attacks against Russian oil refineries, significantly lowering their capacity and making a noticeable dent in Russia’s horn of plenty. 

At the same time, global oil prices have slumped, which further complicates Moscow’s management of budget revenues. How is Russia coping with these challenges? Is the expanded energy partnership with China providing a helping hand? And are Western hopes that the Russian war economy’s energy engine will break down in the next twelve months rooted in reality?

Hosted by

Alexander Gabuev
Director, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Alexander Gabuev

Featuring

Sergey Vakulenko
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Sergey Vakulenko

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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