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Russia’s financial system is showing growing signs of instability despite optimistic statements from the country’s central bank about the resilience of the economy, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, UATV English reports.
The agency said Russians are increasingly withdrawing their savings from banks and returning to cash transactions, abandoning bank cards and cashless payments.
“The incentive to keep money in banks has disappeared, prompting some depositors to switch to cash savings. Small and medium-sized businesses are also increasingly relying on cash as growing tax pressure encourages entrepreneurs to avoid tighter fiscal oversight and reduce operating costs. Sanctions are another factor. Since Russian bank cards are largely unusable abroad, people traveling overseas are accumulating cash in advance to purchase foreign currency,” the intelligence service said.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the trend is accelerating faster than Russian officials are willing to acknowledge, reflecting weakening public confidence in the country’s financial system.
The report comes as the European Union continues to consider additional sanctions targeting companies that support Russia’s military-industrial complex in an effort to increase pressure on Moscow over its war against Ukraine.
