Russian bank deposit outflows amid war fears

In August 2026, Russians withdrew record amounts of cash from banks, with 286.4 billion roubles pulled in the first two weeks alone, marking a seventh consecutive month of outflows. The withdrawals are driven by fears that the Kremlin could seize or freeze deposits to fund the war in Ukraine, compounded by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure and economic pessimism. The cash drain has created a severe liquidity crunch, forcing the Russia — Central Bank of Russia to expand lending and leading to cancelled government bond auctions. Major banks including Gazprombank, Russian Agricultural Bank, Alfa-Bank, Sovcombank, and VTB have seen significant deposit outflows, while Sberbank also experienced outflows in recent months. The government has seized assets from oligarchs like Vadim Moshkovich, and Andrei Klepach, chief economist at Russia — VEB.RF, was fired after questioning Russia's ability to win a war of attrition. The situation reflects a deteriorating Russian economy, with GDP growth slowing to 0.3% in the first half of 2026. Concurrently, Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on Moscow, and Russia killed civilians in Kharkiv, escalating the conflict.