Cash in circulation rose by 513 billion rubles (€5.75 billion) in the first half of July, after increasing by 479 billion rubles (€5.37 billion) in June, according to data from the Central Bank of Russia. Since the start of February, the total has climbed by more than 2.4 trillion rubles (€26.9 billion). The spike comes amid a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks that have repeatedly prompted the Kremlin to shut down mobile internet across large parts of the country, leaving many people unable to pay by card. Moscow says the outages are intended to help counter the strikes. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. It also comes as economic pessimism reaches its highest level in two decades. A recent Gallup survey found that 60% of Russians believed local economic conditions were worsening, while 56% said living standards were declining. Bank borrowing surges Economists say persistent inflation, rising taxes and tighter government oversight of financial transactions have added to the uncertainty and encouraged some Russians to move money outside the banking system. “In essence, the country has reached an imbalance between money returning to banks and money being withdrawn by the public,” economist Igor Lipsits told The Moscow Times. The flight into cash has left banks short of ruble liquidity, forcing the Central Bank of Russia to sharply increase lending to the sector.