Natural gas prices for Russian households have increased by nearly 34% since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, despite Russia being the world’s second-largest natural gas producer, British officials said Monday.

The prices are expected to increase a further 8.2% in 2025, adding to the inflationary pressure on Russia’s economy and further weakening spending power for ordinary Russians, U.K. military officials posted on X.

“Inflation in Russia is highly likely to remain above the Central Bank of Russia’s target of 4% in the second half of 2024. This is partly due to increases in domestic gas prices alongside other rising household bills and increased government spending, which is mainly driven by Russia’s rising defense spending on the war in Ukraine,” British officials said in their latest analysis of the battlefield in Ukraine.

Gazprom, one of Russia’s state-owned energy companies, has a monopoly over the country’s domestic gas supply market. The Kremlin regulates prices and implemented an 11.2% jump on July 1.

“This hike is almost certainly intended to increase revenue from Russia’s domestic market in response to the loss of natural gas exports to Europe,” British military officials posted on X.

Gazprom lost almost $7 billion in profits in 2023, its biggest annual loss in 25 years, U.K. officials said Monday.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.