Ukraine claims Russia is giving rubles to citizens in occupied territories

A photo of Russian ruble banknotes and coins next to a ruble symbol

(Image credit: Kirill Kudryavstev / AFP via Getty Images)

published 30 March 2022

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."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.