Zelensky/SZRU: 11 Russian Banks Preparing to Liquidate; 400 Oil Wells Closed
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on 18 May that Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) has obtained Russian documents showing that one unspecified Russian oil company alone has had to close 400 active oil wells, Russia has reduced oil refining by at least 10% so far in 2026, 11 Russian financial institutions are preparing to liquidate and another 8 banking institutions cannot internally resolve their accumulated problems. Russia’s federal budget deficit is already almost $80 billion in the first five months of 2026. Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov also publicly conceded labour shortages and sanctions are now forcing downward GDP revisions.
this as the compounding effect of Ukraine’s intensifying long-range strike campaign on Russian oil and refining infrastructure since March 2026: the strikes on the Moscow Oil Refinery and the Solnechnogorsk and Volodarsk oil pumping stations confirmed in ISW’s 17 May assessment fit this pattern. Russia has resorted to selling its physical gold reserves and increasing the value-added tax (VAT) in January 2026, which has expanded the “shadow” (gray) economy and pushed up costs without generating the desired tax revenues. The Russian Minister of Economic Development’s admission that labour shortages constrain the economy contradicts President Putin’s ongoing public framing of low unemployment as a sign of strength.