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Russia was to pay 100 million U.S. dollars on its two Eurobond coupons in May 2022. However, the government could not access foreign currency reserves held in sanctioning countries due to Western sanctions imposed on the country over its invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, Russia has attempted to pay in Russian rubles, a national currency. However, the payments were reported to have been held on the way to foreign investors at Euroclear Bank due to compliance reasons. The 30-day grace period on them expired on June 26, 2022. Thus, a foreign debt default could now be declared in Russia.

The Russian government argued that the sanctions forced Russia into an artificial default, as Russia has enough funds to repay the sovereign debt, but it is prevented by the restrictions to access them in U.S. dollars and euros. The government planned to continue paying in Russian rubles. In June 2022, the amount due was *** million U.S. dollars.