Ukraine Russia Conflict: S&P lowers Russia's foreign currency rating

S&P on Saturday said that it has lowered Russia’s foreign currency ratings to “selective default” on increased risks that “Moscow will not be able and willing to honour its commitments to foreign debtholders."

On Saturday it released the statement which reads, “We currently don’t expect that investors will be able to convert those ruble payments into dollars equivalent to the originally due amounts, or that the government will convert those payments within a 30-day grace period."

Russia launched a war on Ukraine on February 24. However, according to the latest updates, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has described a missile strike on a railway station in eastern Ukraine as a Russian war crime and called for a “firm global response." Meanwhile, two UN agencies have called for “urgent action” to help an estimated 1,000 seafarers stranded in Ukrainian ports and waters with dwindling supplies. Also, Russian troops have “forcibly deported” more than 600,000 Ukrainians, including about 121,000 children, to Russia, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Lyudmila Denysova, said. Not only this but some Russian military units have experienced major losses, a senior US defence official said, and the Pentagon estimates Russia’s combat power is between 80% and 85% of pre-invasion levels.