Enlarge image
Red Square in Moscow
Photo: SERGEI ILNITSKY / EPA
Just over a year ago, Russia launched a war of aggression against Ukraine that violated international law.
The Kremlin's actions were condemned worldwide, and the West in particular reacted with severe sanctions.
Almost a year later, the EU passed the ninth package of sanctions, and a tenth is already in the works.
This has an impact on the Russian economy: Moscow has now drawn on its gold reserves and currency reserves in Chinese yuan to cover gaps in the state budget.
The 23 billion euro hole
According to the state news agency TASS, a total of 2.27 billion yuan (around 309 million euros) and 3.6 tons of gold were sold.
"The funds thus obtained were transferred to the state budget account to cover the deficit," says a statement.
The January hole in the state budget was estimated at 1.76 trillion rubles (23 billion euros).
A total of 3.1 trillion rubles (around 40 billion euros) was spent, which corresponds to an increase of 59 percent compared to January of the previous year.
The ministry has not given any reason for the additional spending.
Costs for aggressive war could hit the budget.
In addition to the sanctions, the West has also stopped or greatly reduced imports of Russian gas.
Only last week, the EU member states agreed on price caps for Russian oil products.
This is also having an impact on the Kremlin's finances: State budget revenue from the oil and gas business has fallen by 46 percent compared to January 2022.
According to the Ministry of Finance, Russia currently has reserves of 10.4 billion euros, 307.4 billion yuan and 551.2 tons of gold.
mrc/dpa
