Ukraine war: Russians wait in queues for cash as rouble plunges and hyperinflation looms

Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the rouble plummeting and people queuing for cash outside banks.

The Russian currency plunged about 30 per cent against the US dollar on Monday after Western nations announced moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and to restrict Russia's use of its massive foreign currency reserves.

The exchange rate later recovered ground after swift action by Russia's central bank, which more than doubled the key interest rate to support the rouble.

But later in the day, the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions that would immobilise any assets of the Russian central bank in the United States or held by Americans. The Biden administration estimated that the move could impact "hundreds of billions of dollars" of Russian funding.

Biden administration officials said Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, European Union and others will join the US in targeting the Russian central bank.

In Russia, people wary that sanctions would deal a crippling blow to the economy have been flocking to banks and ATMs for days, with reports on social media of long lines and machines running out.

Moscow's department of public transport warned city residents over the weekend that they might experience problems with using Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay to pay fares because VTB, one of the Russian banks facing sanctions, handles card payments in Moscow's metro, buses and trams.

A sharp devaluation of the rouble would mean a drop in the standard of living for the average Russian. That's because Russians are still reliant on a multitude of imported goods and the prices for those