Russia can no longer pay its debts with dollars held in U.S. banks

U.S. dollar and Russian rouble
(Image credit: Savushkin/iStock)

The United States Treasury on Monday blocked Russia from making debt payments using dollars held at U.S. banks, a move that could force Russia to deplete its domestically held dollar reserves or even default on its loans, Reuters reported Tuesday.

According to Reuters, Russia had two payments due on Monday — "a $552.4 million principal payment on a maturing bond" and an "$84 million coupon payment ... on a 2042 sovereign dollar bond" — both of which were blocked by the Treasury.

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Grayson Quay

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteModern AgeThe American ConservativeThe Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.