Business 2 March 2022, 9:00am

Putin caps Russian cash exports at USD 10,000

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As stringent Western sanctions deliver increasingly heavier blows to the Russian economy for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the president has ordered amid growing fears that the financial system would collapse that people can leave Russia with a maximum of 10,000 US dollars.

Russian citizens can no longer leave the country with more than $10,000 (£7,500) in foreign currency on hand after President Putin made the declaration in a decree.

The order has gone into effect from Wednesday, BBC reported.

It comes as sanctions by Western nations have crippled the Russian economy and tanked the value of the rouble.

The sanctions now hitting Russia are being described as economic war - they aim to isolate the country and create a deep recession there. Western leaders hope the unprecedented measures will bring about a change in thinking in the Kremlin.

"Ordinary Russians face seeing their savings wiped out. Their lives are already being disrupted." BBC reported. When reading about the sanctions we tend to focus on their targets rather than on how they affect people. BBC's report helps adjust that focus a bit.

The sanctions against some Russian banks include cutting them off from Visa and Mastercard, and consequently Apple Pay and Google Pay, making it difficult for Russians to take care of such ordinary businesses as getting on the metro or buying groceries.