Vladimir Putin suffered a humiliating blow on the world stage this week after the Russian ruble crashed yet again, with one Ruble now worth exactly one US cent.
Ukraine's southern Kherson region will start using the Russian ruble from May 1, an official from a pro-Russian committee which styles itself as the region's "military-civil administration" told Russian news agency RIA.
International sanctions on Vladimir Putin's regime sank the ruble to a record low of 121.5 rubles per dollar, triggering memories of the battering it took during the 1998 Russian financial crisis.
President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday Russia will only accept payments in rubles for gas deliveries to "unfriendly countries", which include all EU members, after Moscow was hit by unprecedented sanctions over Ukraine.