Malaysians in Russia suffering from sanctions
Some Malaysian students in Russia are suffering from the effects of sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
According to The Star, some students have found that their bank and credits linked to non-Russian banks are unusable.
Limited access to...
Some Malaysian students in Russia are suffering from the effects of sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
According to The Star, some students have found that their bank and credits linked to non-Russian banks are unusable.
Limited access to Facebook and Twitter is also a problem, hampering communications.
Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24, there have been numerous reports of Russians engaging in bank runs - mass withdrawal of cash - over fears that electronic banking would break down.
Visa and Mastercard have both blocked Russian banks from their networks. Similarly, some Russians no longer have access to GPay or Apple Pay.
Inaccessibility to western social media networks appear to be self-imposed by Russian authorities but can be circumvented through the use of VPN.
ATMs out of cash
Medical student S Shasveena, 23, told The Star that she has no access to international banking and that most ATMs were out of cash or subjected to limited withdrawals.
"As foreign students here in Russia, we are worried that if this currency crisis prolongs, we will not have enough funds to sustain ourselves," she said.
Medical student Albert Bailey Liaw Kok Voon from Kuala Lumpur said the price of groceries has gone up after the Russian rouble crashed. It is down 64 percent compared to a year ago.
"Even Russian citizens are scared and traumatised. It's going to be hard for them to survive as so many things have been cut off," he said.
Liaw added that he was aware that the Malaysian Embassy is preparing to evacuate Malaysians.
In other parts of Russia, some students are reporting that cash supply and use of bank cards were still unaffected.
Some also reported that the exchange rate meant that they had more cash when converting the ringgit.
For Nur Anis Emilia Mohd Shukry, 21, it was still necessary to keep cash on hand.
"In terms of safety, we just have to be alert as we are not sure whether Ukraine will retaliate," she said.
Russia is a popular destination for Malaysian medical students.
