The National Bank of Ukraine says that in occupied territories, Russia is starting to "limit the circulation" of hryvnias, the Ukrainian national currency, while "introducing" rubles.
The issuance and use of a currency other than the hryvnia is illegal in Ukraine, The Washington Post reports. Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, tweeted on Tuesday, "Faced with total resistance from the local population, Russia tries to introduce the ruble in the temporarily seized parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in an attempt to establish an occupation regime."
Citing a regional council member from Henichesk, a port city in the Kherson province, the Kyiv Independent reports that Russian forces there have issued pensions in rubles. The council member, Sergey Khlan, wrote on Facebook that people are receiving payments of 10,000 rubles, but "the entire movement of the ruble ends in exchange offices, in which retirees immediately exchange rubles for hryvnia."