An Iranian soldier keeps watch during a mass funeral for the victims of US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, Iran, 11 March 2026. Photo: EPA / Abedin Taherkenareh
Russia has earned an estimated €6 billion in revenue from fossil fuel exports since Israeli and US strikes on Iran began on 28 February, according to data collected by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which was published by German NGO Urgewald on Thursday.
The analysis found that Russia took in around €510 million per day from fossil fuel exports in the week following the strikes, 14% above the February daily average, an amount that could fund the purchase of approximately 17,000 Shahed 136 attack drones each day, based on a commonly cited estimate of $35,000 per drone, Urgewald said.
Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a temporary 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to buy Russian oil already at sea, a short-term move he said would have only a modest impact on Russia’s income.
However, US President Donald Trump is weighing up a broader rollback of Russian oil sanctions as the Iran conflict caused energy market turbulence. In his first phone call with Vladimir Putin this year on Tuesday, Trump addressed Ukraine, energy and the Iran conflict, reportedly telling Putin that sanctions on “some countries” could be lifted to relieve a global oil shortage.
Campaigners warn that easing sanctions could boost Russia’s war effort in Ukraine by allowing it to stop selling oil at discounted prices and regain access to higher-paying markets.
Alexander Kirk, a sanctions campaigner at Urgewald, said the situation refleted “the reality of fossil fuel geopolitics.”
“This is a political choice. Governments can hold the line on sanctions, or they can signal that if energy prices rise high enough, the West will always find a reason to blink. That choice will not just prolong Ukrainian suffering. It will undermine the security of Europe as a whole,” Kirk added.
