The Russian ruble has returned to the level it was when the war in Ukraine began. After the outbreak of hostilities on February 24, the ruble fell to a record low, according to the BBC. Yesterday, the ruble traded at 0.012 per dollar, about the pre-war level.
For comparison, on March 21, the value of the Russian currency against the dollar was 0.0076, and the historically lowest level was on March 7 – 0.0072. Then the Biden administration announced a ban on the import of Russian oil and gas.
Russia has been forced to take tough financial measures to stabilize the ruble, including raising interest rates to 20% and imposing capital controls on Russians hoping to exchange their national currency for dollars or euros.
However, experts warn that Russia’s central bank is taking risks by raising interest rates, which could ultimately force Russians to bypass capital controls and move less currency.
Speaking to the Norwegian parliament on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to tighten sanctions against Russia.
“The stronger the sanctions package, the faster we will restore peace,” he said.