Putin mocked for tanking the ruble with hack in Russia’s ‘Oil Capital’ | World News

As the Russian ruble plummets to its lowest value in 17 months, pranksters hacked an electronic news ticker to call Vladimir Putin something rather accurate.

The message which has been circulating across social media is from the Siberian city of Surgut, dubbed the ‘Oil Capital of Russia’.

Russia is suffering a broader decline since early 2022 following a strong recovering post-pandemic.

People in the Siberian city of Surgut, dubbed the ‘Oil Capital of Russia’ have clearly had enough and had this message for Putin: ‘Putin is a di**head and a thief. 100₽/$ – you’ve lost your f**king mind’.

The news ticker was reported by Max Seddon on Twitter, the Financial Times’ Moscow bureau chief.

Authorities in Russia have clamped down on acts of public dissent and it is not yet clear who was behind the prank.

The sanctions slapped on Russia since the war in Ukraine has hampered the rouble’s performance.

Russia’s oil and gas industry has also been hit hard because the EU banned the transport of Russian crude and petroleum products overseas.

The rouble has fallen significantly against the dollar, from 0.185 on June 24 last year to just 0.01, less than a cent.

Interest rates in Russia have risen from 3.5% to 12% in a ditch attempt to save the country’s currency.

This is not the first time frustration has been voiced against Russia after US Air Force pilots pulled off a ballsy stunt last November.

A girthy looking penis was ‘drawn’ in the sky by a Russian naval facility located in Syrian waters.

The cheeky creation was spotted near Tartus – the Kremlin’s naval facility in the Mediterranean. 

It is believed the stunt was carried out by a aerial refueling plane crew aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker.

In other news Putin’s defence minister issued a chilling threat to use cluster bombs in Ukraine in response to US supplies of the globally banned weapons.

Sergei Shoigu said in a speech that the Kremlin has refrained from doing so out of ‘humanitarian’ concerns.

Both Ukraine and Russia have used the munitions during the war, but the Biden administration has been reluctant to send them over due to their controversial nature.

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