Russian citizens are reportedly pulling billions from the country's banking system as they fear Vladimir Putin could seize deposits to finance the war in Ukraine. A "record cash outflow" has been recorded while Ukrainian drones target key Russian infrastructure.
Record cash outflows
Nearly 286.4 billion rubles (£2.5 billion) was withdrawn in the first two weeks of August, on top of the $7.3 billion (£5.37 billion) withdrawn in July and more than $4.5 billion (£3.3 billion) in June, according to Russian Central Bank data, the Washington Post reported. This amounts to around $15 billion (£11 billion).
According to the US newspaper, Taras Skvortsov, a senior executive at Sberbank - Russia's biggest retail financial institution - said total withdrawals in 2026 could nearly double the amount withdrawn in the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Nervousness grows amid drone strikes
A former senior Russian finance official quoted by the Washington Post said: "Drones are flying. Things are burning down. Nervousness is growing. People's everyday wisdom may be kicking in that they need to have cash under their pillow and not somewhere in banks where it may never be returned."
The former official added: "For some banks this really is a problem. They didn't expect this, and they invested all the cash elsewhere, and yet people are coming and taking out half a trillion rubles a month."
Transfers out of Russia
The Russian Central Bank data added that in the second quarter of 2026, a total of $9.4 billion (£6.9 billion) was transferred out of Russia.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has been heavily targeting Russian key infrastructure with devastating drone strikes. Ukrainian forces hit centres belonging to Wildberries, which is described as Russia's answer to Amazon. Earlier this month, President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that oil facilities deep inside Russia had been struck in night-time attacks.
Russian oil refineries in Bashkortostan, over 800 miles behind the eastern frontline, and one in Yaroslavl, nearly 400 miles from the border, were both reportedly hit. Ukraine also hit Russian military energy facilities in areas like the Saratov and Tatarstan regions, both more than 600 miles away.
