The Daily Populous Monday March 16th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by londonlovesbusiness.com and submitted by GoldDog_

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia is significantly benefiting from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

He highlighted that rising energy prices are strengthening the Kremlin’s capacity to continue its war efforts.

Zelensky stated that Vladimir Putin has earned approximately $10 billion in just two weeks due to the surge in oil prices following the escalation between the United States, Israel, and Iran.

“Now we see that they have earned about $10 billion in two weeks of war in the Middle East. This is really dangerous. It gives Putin more confidence that he can continue the war,” Zelensky said.

He pointed out that the situation surrounding Iran is indirectly boosting Moscow’s finances, while the gradual easing of certain international restrictions has also benefited the Russian economy.

According to Zelenskyy, Russia faced a budget deficit of over $100 billion in 2026 because of sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States, alongside Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure.

However, the spike in global oil prices, triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, is providing Moscow with a new financial boost.

The Financial Times reported that this increase in crude oil prices is generating an additional $150 million per day for Russia’s state budget.

Zelenskyy also claimed there is an informal “barter-style” relationship between Moscow and Tehran, alleging that Russia supplies weapons to Iran while using its energy revenues to support the Iranian regime.

He warned that this growing partnership between Russia and Iran could pose a greater threat to stability across the Middle East.

PanicOverNothing on March 16th, 2026 at 15:16 UTC »

Russia winning a war that they aren't even in will always be hilarious to me.

Agent Trump at it again

kingcakeaholic on March 16th, 2026 at 14:48 UTC »

Putin had 40,000,000 barrels pre-loaded on ships, ready to sell.

BeautyInUgly on March 16th, 2026 at 14:47 UTC »

No one is happier than Putin, it’s incredibly really this solved all his problems and actually puts him in a much stronger position

He was about to get gas cut off by the Europeans and all he could sell to was China which wasn’t very profitable as they would undercut him based on the global price

Now he gets to sell for full price, make billions and continue to war much better funded