"It Took 26 Seconds To Strip Russia Of Its Influence."

• 20.11.2025, 16:55

This story has symbolic significance.

A committee of the Bulgarian parliament took 26 seconds to rewrite the history of the last 26 years, during which Lukoil owned the largest refinery in the Balkans, Neftohim. MPs approved the government's decision to strip the shareholder of its rights, take control of the company and appoint an external manager to negotiate its sale to a new owner. The story has symbolic significance, showing how Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine has taken a toll on Russia.

The Donald Trump sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft dealt the worst blow to Russia's economic power in the Balkans in decades, undermining the Kremlin's position in a region where East and West have struggled for influence for centuries, Bloomberg.

"The basis of Russia's influence is built on energy dominance through oil and gas, a Soviet-era legacy that has been elusive for years. Now it is largely gone. It is on its last legs, that's why it is so worrying," Ruslan Stefanov, chief economist at the Sofia-based Center for the Study of Democracy, told the agency.

Besides Bulgaria, Russia is also losing its energy influence in Serbia, which has long taken a pro-Russian stance and in recent years, marked by rapprochement with the West, has at least tried to maintain a balance. The government is now considering buying out the stakes of Russian shareholders in the oil and gas company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) - Gazprom Neft (44.85% stake) and St. Petersburg-based Inteligence (managed by Gazprom Capital, 11.3% stake). NIS, which operates the country's only refinery, which meets Serbia's needs for gasoline and diesel by about 80% and jet fuel and fuel oil by more than 90%, failed in October to secure another exemption from U.S. sanctions.

Belgrade would like to avoid nationalization of NIS. Serbian President Alexander Vucic said the government would find the money for the buyout as a last resort, but asked Gazprom to find a buyer. The latter, in turn, asked the U.S. to extend NIS's license to operate while the search is underway.

Some suppliers have already stopped working with NIS. In order to avoid sanctions that threaten unpleasant consequences for Serbia's economy, Vucic, who has had to deal with massive protests for many months now, needs to convince Washington of his intention to get rid of Gazprom, Bloomberg notes. Bulgarian authorities, meanwhile, have succeeded. They passed legislation to take control of Neftohim hours after the U.S. Treasury Department on Nov. 7 refused to approve the sale of Lukoil's international business to oil trader Gunvor, calling it a "puppet of the Kremlin."

Ten days after that, Rumen Spetsov, the former head of the tax service, took control of the company. The U.S. then granted Neftohim a license to continue operating until April 2026. "Lukoil on Wednesday said it was taking all necessary steps to sell Bulgarian assets, including the refinery and a network of 220 gas stations."

With the eventual ousting of Russian oil giants from Bulgaria and Serbia, Putin's influence in the Balkans will be neutralized, according to Mario Bikarski, senior Europe specialist at the Verisk Maplecroft analytical firm:

The opportunities for lobbying and other forms of interaction with the political and business elite [of the region's countries] will be reduced.