Russia claims some clients have agreed to pay for gas in Rubles

Russia on Friday claimed that some of its clients had agreed to begin making energy payments in Rubles amid ongoing sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak did not disclose which of Russia's customers had made the switch, but noted that Russia "expect[s] the decision from other importers,” according to the Epoch Times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded in early April that countries Moscow deems "unfriendly" pay for energy products in Rubles, the Times noted. The move was part of a series of countermeasures to western sanctions over Russia's active military conflict with Ukraine.

Russian forces entered Ukrainian territory on Feb. 24, prompting a slew of sanctions from the European Union and western nations.

Since the start of the invasion, the Ruble has mostly recovered its value on the international market. Putin this week touted it's recovery as an indicator of the Russian economy's resistance to sanctions, saying "It is also obvious that the Russian economy is working quite stably and efficiently. I won't repeat everything. You can see it well yourself: the dollar exchange rate has returned to the parameters before the start of the operation, and so on."

On Feb. 23, 1 USD was equal to 79 Rubles. On March 8, the exchange reached a height of one dollar to 141 Rubles. As of Friday, 80.75 Rubles equaled 1 USD.