Putin Bans Anyone Leaving Russia With $10,000 In Foreign Currency

President Vladimir Putin has banned anyone leaving Russia with more than $10,000 in foreign currency, an indication that the sanctions inflicted by the West are choking Kremlin’s finances, the Kiev Independent online news outlet reported.

Photo Insert: Given all the airspace restrictions and sanctions on Russia, there aren't many places its citizens can go.

On the other International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) are preparing a $4.4 billion aid package for Ukraine in response to the country’s appeals for emergency financial support.

WB is preparing a $3 billion aid package for Ukraine, the first $350 million of which could arrive next week while IMF will provide an additional $1.4 billion for Ukraine if agreed upon at a meeting next week.

US airplane maker Boeing has suspended parts, maintenance, and technical support for Russian airlines as well as major operations in Moscow as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Estonia and Latvia are sending Javelin shoulder-fired missiles, ammunition, rifles, machineguns, and fuel, with the latter committing to ship in 30 trucks of ammunition, supplies, and fuel to Ukraine, the Lviv Regional State Administration chief Maksym Kozytskyi revealed.

On the war front, Artem Zdunov, who heads Russia's Mordovian Republic, reported the death of Russian Col. Viktor Isaikin, who was sent to Ukraine on a “military assignment.”

A senior US Defense Department official told reporters during a background briefing that “morale is flagging” in some Russian units. Acts of vandalism include puncturing gas tanks, presumably so the soldiers can avoid being transported into combat, he said. Russian troops in Crimea also refused to take part in the Ukraine invasion.

The Center for Defense Strategies said members of Russia’s 810th Detached Marine Brigade in Crimea are in a “demoralized state.” Ukrainian planes, army units, and territorial defense troops destroyed a large Russian military convoy near the city of Bashtanka in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region, Mykola Lukashuk, chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Council announced on Facebook.

Military bloggers report that the convoy contained up to 800 vehicles.

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