Despite the sanctions being applied to Russia by the European Union, the United States and the G7, Vladimir Putin's country is finding ways to keep the economy afloat. And one of those points is being energy.

According to estimates made by Bloomberg Economics, also cited by the newspaper Negócios, Russia could earn up to $320 billion from energy exports - almost a third more than in 2021.

Bloomberg notes that freighters with Russian crude are already sold out for next month, and several Chinese companies have already used local currency to buy Russian coal in March. In addition, natural gas flows from Russia to Europe have not stagnated - on the contrary, they have increased since the invasion of Ukraine. And none of these points are being targeted by sanctions, the agency notes.

"There is no doubt that financial and other sanctions have weakened the Russian economy," notes Patrick Honohan of the Peterson Institute in Washington, "but the sanctions have fallen short of restricting the economy, since they do not interrupt the flow of export revenues."