Ruble Plunges Nearly 30% as Sanctions Over War on Ukraine Hit Russian Economy

The sharp fall comes after the United States and European nations agreed to remove key Russian banks from the SWIFT.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Image used for representative purposes. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/KremlinRussia)

As Russia attracts harsh sanctions over its war on Ukraine, Russian currency Ruble plunged nearly 30 percent against the dollar on Monday, 28 February.

The Ruble was indicated to be down 26 percent at 114.33 per dollar in offshore trading, reported Bloomberg.

The sharp fall comes after the United States and European nations on Saturday agreed to remove some key Russian banks from the SWIFT, a vital global financial network.

The crippling economic measures, which will also include restrictions on the Russian central bank's international reserves, come after a series of stringent sanctions on Russian entities and individuals, including President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

As another measure, the US and the European allies announced a commitment “to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship—so-called golden passports—that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.”

The EU has also closed its airspace to Russian aircrafts, and has banned Russian state media outlets broadcast. "We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin," a statement released by the collective of European countries said.

Meanwhile, talks for de-escalation of the war are expected to take place on Monday, with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations scheduled to meet at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.