Ruble in free fall as sanctions against Russian central bank come into force

European Union sanctions against Russia's central bank have come into force after they were published in the EU Official Journal in the early hours of Monday, leading the ruble to fall sharply.

The new sanctions include a ban on any European transactions with the Russian Federation's central financial institution, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

All the resources of the Russian central bank in European jurisdiction will be frozen in order to prevent the financing of the war in Ukraine ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian ruble lost almost 30% of its exchange rate against the US dollar on Monday morning after the imposition of new sanctions.

The ruble fell almost 27%, to 114.33: 1 against the US dollar, in the first transactions in the international financial markets, the Bloomberg news agency reported.