Kremlin-installed officials said in May that the region would transition to the Russian ruble over a period of four to five months.
The Russian ruble appears to be faltering in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, months after Kremlin-installed officials attempted to swap out Ukraine’s currency, the hryvnia.
Amid an anticipated Ukrainian victory in the Kherson region as Kyiv conducts a counteroffensive to take back its territory, multiple videos are emerging on local Telegram channels that show employees at gas stations and pharmacies refusing to accept rubles and demanding customers pay only in hryvnia.
Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-appointed military-civilian regional administration, said in May that the region would transition to the ruble over a period of four to five months.
Kherson was the first major city seized by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces after the war began in February.
