Russians queued up in long lines to withdraw cash from ATMs in recent days as crippling sanctions sent the ruble plummeting in response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United States and European countries have issued a raft of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on their citizens transacting with Russia’s central bank, Russia’s National Wealth Fund, or the Russian finance ministry.
“The unprecedented action we are taking today will significantly limit Russia’s ability to use assets to finance its destabilizing activities, and target the funds Putin and his inner circle depend on to enable his invasion of Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement on Monday.
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Russian banks were also cut off from SWIFT, a messaging network that facilitates financial transactions around the world.
“Since Thursday, everyone has been running from ATM to ATM to get cash. Some are lucky, others not so much,” Pyotr, a St. Petersburg resident who declined to give his last name, told Reuters.
Andrew Roth, a Moscow correspondent for The Guardian, posted a video of a long line for an ATM in Moscow’s Metropolis mall, but said the machine was empty.
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The ruble plummeted on Monday more than 30% against the U.S. dollar, but made up some of those losses after Russian officials took steps to prop up the currency.
The Russian central bank raised its key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% on Monday and shut down the country’s stock exchange for the week.
Reuters contributed to this report.
