Russian Rubles Are Being Refused In Kherson As Those Remaining Await Ukrainians

"You don't need to be a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows." Bob Dylan, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues.'

The cashiers at Kherson's remaining retail outlets are making clear what they expect will happen. JL 

Isabel Van Brugen reports in Newsweek:

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. 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. In one clip, an employee can be heard telling a customer that she was directed by a superior to only accept payment in hryvnia. According to local residents, they do not want to transition to the Russian currency, and the exchange rate for the Ukrainian hryvnia has soared

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.