Russian Ruble Being Refused in Kherson Amid Anticipated Ukraine Victory

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.

Last month, Putin also proclaimed to have annexed Kherson, as well as Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, following sham referendums in the partly occupied regions that have been decried by international communities as illegal.

But statements from Russian officials and the Kremlin-installed authorities in recent days signal that Putin's troops are preparing to surrender in the region, while a number of companies are refusing to accept the Russian currency.

In one clip, an employee can be heard telling a customer that she was directed by a superior to only accept payment in hryvnia.

"Do you have rubles?" a customer asks a woman at the counter of a petrol station.

"We have hryvnia," she responds, before making a phone call, and passing the phone to the customer, who inquires about the move to refuse ruble payments.

Pharmacies in Kherson are also reportedly refusing to accept rubles. According to local residents, they still do not want to transition to the Russian currency, and the exchange rate for the Ukrainian hryvnia on the market has soared, local news outlet Stopcor reported.

It comes against the backdrop of a mass evacuation of citizens from Kherson.

Vladimir Saldo, head of the Russian-installed administration of the Kherson region, said on Russian state TV last week that authorities plan to transport about 50,000 to 60,000 people to the east bank of the Dnieper River within a week.

Stremousov also said that "the battle for Kherson will begin very soon" as he asked residents to "leave the area of the brutal fighting to come if possible."

On Monday, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's defense ministry, told Ukrainska Pravda that Russian troops are simply creating the illusion that they are leaving Kherson, but in fact, they are shifting new military units there and preparing to defend the area.

Newsweek reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment.