Moscow, Jun 10 (IANS): Russia is now earning more money from fossil fuel exports than before its ongoing invasion of Ukraine which prompted Western nations to target Moscow with a barrage of sanctions, US Senior Advisor for Global Energy Security Amos Hochstein said.

Global energy prices, already on the rise before the February offensive, have been driven higher by the embargoes, which have helped Moscow alleviate the impact of restrictions, RT News quoted Hochstein, who had previously served as the US energy security envoy, as saying.

When asked whether Moscow was receiving more money from its oil and gas trade compared to several months ago, Hochstein told the Senate Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation: "I cannot deny that."

The US moved to restrict all imports of Russian crude oil, some petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, and coal in early March as part of the sanctions sparked by the invasion.

On Wednesday, Russia's State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that oil deliveries from Moscow to Washington had "almost doubled in March compared to February", RT reported.

Meanwhile, media reports have suggested that the sanctions have hardly affected Moscow's energy trade so far.

In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that Russian oil shipments had grown by 300,000 barrels a day that month alone.