Russia can no longer pay its debts with dollars held in U.S. banks
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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Treasury's new restrictions come as multiple nations have imposed or threatened new sanctions against Russia after Ukrainian forces discovered hundreds of dead civilians in the Kyiv suburbs.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported, the European Union announced that it would ban imports of Russian "coal, wood, chemicals and other products worth about nine billion euros ($9.86 billion) a year."
Despite the international crackdown on Russia's economy, however, the Russian rouble has rebounded to its pre-war value, The Washington Post reported Thursday. The Post attributed the recovery to a mixture of strong oil and natural gas exports, limits on currency exchange imposed by Russia's central bank, and a decline in "panicked customer withdrawals."
-
The ‘ravenous’ demand for Cornish mineralsUnder the Radar Growing need for critical minerals to power tech has intensified ‘appetite’ for lithium, which could be a ‘huge boon’ for local economy
-
Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
‘The forces he united still shape the Democratic Party’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
