Russian ruble collapses to lowest value in huge blow to Putin

Russia’s economy has hit a new milestone, as the ruble has fallen to new lows against the Dollar. Since the war in Ukraine started in February last year, Moscow has been hit with a bevy of sanctions meant to strangle Vladimir Putin ‘s military. It appears to have worked, as markets show the ruble has hit a near-all-time record value to America’s currency, lower than almost any point since records began. As of writing, markets hold that the ruble is at 96.8705 compared to the US dollar. The recent valuations are the cheapest Russia ‘s currency has been since the ruble briefly plummeted after the war first broken out. Russia’s economy has hit a new milestone, as the Ruble has fallen to new lows (Image: GETTY) The Ruble hit near-all-time record lows to America’s Dollar barring a brief drop in 2022 (Image: CNBC) The daily high was 98.1455 according to CNBC, while March 13 last year saw the dollar at worth 126.5 rubles. It continues the trend for the ruble being one of the worst-performing global currencies of the year, declining around 30 percent from levels in January. In July, the currency surged past a key ‘comfort zone’ for the Kremlin as it hit 91 to the dollar. The Economist reported in May that Russia spent 5 trillion rubles (£40.574 billion) on the invasion, or three percent of its GDP. The ruble is one of the worst-performing currencies, declining around 30 percent from January (Image: GETTY) Despite the economic blow, Russia will continue to build up forces at western borders to counter the threat of NATO, defence minister Sergei Shoigu said. He said that ‘the collective West is waging a proxy war against Russia ‘, citing ‘unprecedented support” for Ukraine . Shoigu also noted Poland already announced plans to strengthen its military, an the entry of Finland into NATO. The minister then added: ‘These threats to Russia ‘s military security require a timely and adequate response. ‘We will discuss the necessary measures to neutralise them at the meeting and make appropriate decisions.’ Poland’s interior minister announced plans to send 2,000 troops to its boundary with Belarus (Image: GETTY) It comes as Poland’s interior minister announced plans to send 2,000 troops to its boundary with Belarus. Poland has been increasingly worried about the border since hundreds of Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus after the 24-hour mutiny. Belarus started military exercises near the border this week, and Lukashenko said several times that he is restraining Wagner fighters who want to attack Poland.