EXPLAINER: What would a Russian bond default mean?

By The Associated Press

Ratings agencies say Russia is on the verge of defaulting on government bonds following its invasion of Ukraine, with billions of dollars owed to foreigners. That prospect recalls Moscow’s 1998 default that fueled wider financial disruption. The head of the International Monetary Fund conceded that a Russian default is no longer an “improbable event.” Russia says it might make payments in rubles instead of dollars due to sanctions on banks, and that by itself could be called a default. Although the war and sanctions are shaking the global economy through higher fuel and food prices, default by itself probably wouldn’t have the same global fallout as Russia’s 1998 financial crisis.