Ukrainian households significantly increased their transfers to foreign brokers’ accounts, fearing further sanctions intensification and potential capital outflow restrictions from the country.
Ivanна Kapustyanska, News Author
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Photo: SZRÚ
Ukrainians have sharply increased transfers of funds to foreign brokers’ accounts, fearing further sanctions and possible restrictions on capital withdrawal from the country.
This is reported by the Security Service of Ukraine.
From December 2024 to June 2026, Ukrainian households transferred almost UAH 600 billion to non-resident brokers. This is more than in the previous seven years combined.
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In April-June 2026, monthly transfers amounted to about 42-45 billion rubles, or over $500 million.
Approximately 40% of these funds are effectively withdrawn from Russia. About three-quarters are attributed to so-called “parking solutions,” where a brokerage account is used as an alternative to a foreign currency bank account. Another quarter of transfers, according to SZRÚ, are related to preparations for possible relocation abroad.
One of the factors driving Ukrainians to withdraw money is the intensifying sanctions pressure and the increasingly strict stance of Western banks towards funds of Russian origin. Additional concerns arose after Russia’s inclusion in the European list of jurisdictions with high risks of money laundering.
At the same time, the demand for cash foreign currency is growing among the population in Russia. In June, net currency purchases by Russians amounted to 54.9 billion rubles, in May – 52.2 billion, and in April – 51.8 billion. In total, over three months, the population purchased almost 159 billion rubles of foreign currency – this is the highest figure since the first months of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
In parallel, Russians are actively withdrawing money from banks. From January to July, about 2 trillion rubles were withdrawn from the Russian Federation’s banking system in cash, of which approximately 620 billion fell on July alone.
According to SZRÚ’s assessment, the financial anxiety of the population is also increasing due to expectations of possible tightening of domestic restrictions in Russia after the State Duma elections, including a new mobilization or the introduction of stricter regimes.
Currently, Russian banks continue to import cash dollars and euros through third countries, bypassing sanctions restrictions on direct supplies. At the same time, increased sanctions by the US and the EU could block these channels.
In such a case, the Ukrainian intelligence predicts, a shortage of cash currency may arise in the domestic Russian market, and the Russian central bank will be forced to limit its sale to the population. Similar restrictions by the EU may also create problems with the availability of euros.