With its war in Ukraine showing no signs of abating, Russia is now experiencing a surge in cash withdrawals as escalating drone attacks and fears that the Kremlin could seize private savings and corporate assets to fund the conflict send Russians and businesses scrambling to move their money beyond the government’s reach.
According to The Washington Post, nearly $3.4 billion, or roughly 286.4 billion rubles, was withdrawn from Russian banks during the first two weeks of August alone, citing data from Russia’s central bank. Withdrawals reached $7.3 billion in July after exceeding $4.5 billion in June.
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Taras Skvortsov, a senior executive at Sberbank, Russia’s largest retail bank, said current trends could push total withdrawals from the country’s banking system this year to nearly twice the amount recorded during the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Outflows so far this year have already surpassed the $24.7 billion withdrawn during the year following the February 2022 invasion.
Russia last experienced withdrawals on this scale at the beginning of the war, when approximately $23 billion left the banking system in just two weeks. Moscow eventually stemmed the outflow through stringent capital controls and steep interest-rate hikes.
Withdrawing en masse
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This time, however, concerns extend beyond the war itself. A former senior Russian finance official said drone attacks and the resulting uncertainty have changed how ordinary Russians view their savings. Many increasingly believe they need to keep cash “under their mattress” rather than in a bank, fearing they may otherwise never get it back.
Former Russian central bank adviser Alexandra Prokopenko attributed the trend partly to growing public distrust and fears that Moscow could nationalize deposits. Although she considers outright nationalization unlikely, she said restrictions on withdrawals could not be ruled out.
Large Russian companies are also attempting to move funds beyond the reach of domestic regulators amid concerns over potential confiscation. More than $9.4 billion flowed out of Russia during the second quarter of 2026 alone, according to central bank data. The withdrawals are increasingly creating liquidity problems for banks and could complicate Moscow’s ability to finance its widening deficit through government bonds.
Capital exodus a major concern
Russia’s Finance Ministry was forced to cancel a planned bond issuance last month. Skvortsov said banks facing their own liquidity constraints increasingly lack the cash needed to purchase government debt. The pressure comes as Russia’s fiscal position deteriorates. From January through July, the federal budget deficit reached 6.46 trillion rubles, approximately $76.1 billion, far above the previously projected full-year deficit of 3.8 trillion rubles.
Russia’s economy, meanwhile, has nearly stalled. GDP expanded just 0.3 percent during the first half of 2026, compared with 1.2 percent during the same period last year. Andrei Klepach, chief economist at Russian state development corporation VEB, was also dismissed on Aug. 15 after previously questioning Moscow’s ability to prevail in a prolonged war of attrition against a Western-backed Ukraine.
“We have always harbored an illusion that everything in Ukraine would collapse. But it hasn’t collapsed, and it won’t,” said Klepach, adding, “Meanwhile, the costs we are bearing continue to rise.”
Fears of more asset seizures
Concerns among Russia’s business elite have been compounded by an expanding series of government asset seizures. Russian prosecutors say approximately $51.5 billion in assets were confiscated and transferred to the state last year. In June, authorities seized approximately $7.6 billion in assets linked to billionaire Vadim Moshkovich, founder of major agricultural holding company Rosagro, after he was detained and accused of large-scale fraud.
Other prominent businessmen whose assets have been taken include Dmitry Kamenschik, formerly the owner of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, and Konstantin Strukov, who once controlled one of Russia’s largest gold mines. “If the government needs cash, Putin will simply move in and seize assets. He doesn’t care,” an associate of a Russian billionaire said. “And I think things are moving in that direction.”
The financial strain comes as Ukraine expands its campaign against Russian infrastructure. On Aug. 18, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Ukraine launched 620 drones toward Moscow and surrounding areas in one of the largest aerial attacks targeting the Russian capital region.
Sobyanin said Russian forces shot down 180 drones over the Moscow region. Moscow Oblast Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said drones struck a Wildberries warehouse and other facilities, injuring at least three people, including a 10-year-old girl. Russian-controlled Crimea and several other regions also reported attacks, with drone strikes disrupting electricity supplies across parts of the peninsula.
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