It’s not that Severstal didn’t have the money (only $12.6 million), it’s just that the Citibank payment agent rejected the payment due to sanctions against the owner of the company, Alexei Mordashov. The company is looking for alternatives to avoid default, Russian media write about it.

Failure to pay the coupon (or blocking the payment by the paying agent) is fraught with a default on the bonds, and then a cross-default on all debts of the company. And after that, all debts become urgent for repayment.. By the way, Severstal's total debt as of December 31, 2021 was $1.8 billion..

Therefore, the company urgently needs to find an alternative. An alternative now needs to be looked for by many Russian companies that previously used borrowed funds.

Plus, it’s not a fact that the found alternative will suit those who imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation and they, in turn, will not come up with their own alternative.

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Recall that today Putin announced that soon Russia will switch to paying for gas supplies to unfriendly countries in rubles.. At the same time, he gave relevant instructions to the Central Bank, the government and the director of Gazprom for operations and contracts with Europe.. As a result, gas prices in Europe immediately rose, and the ruble exchange rate strengthened.. This is evidenced by the results of trading.