A slump in oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis are costing Russia up to $140 billion a year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said yesterday.

“We’re losing around $40 billion a year because of geopolitical sanctions, and about $90 billion to $100 billion from oil prices falling by 30 per cent,” Siluanov told a news conference.

“The main issue that affects the budget and economy and financial system: this is the price of oil and the fall in monetary flows from the sale of energy resources.”

The price of oil has fallen to around $80 per barrel from nearly $115 per barrel in June.

Oil and gas account for around two-thirds of Russia’s export earnings. Russia’s economy is expected to barely grow this year, as United States and European Union sanctions over Ukraine have deterred foreign investment, exacerbating an existing slowdown.

Russia’s central bank predicts the economy will stagnate for the three years in its base scenario, a far cry from the booming years of economic growth in the early years of President Vladimir Putin’s tenure.