Moody's rating agency, which this week downgraded Russia's long-term foreign and local currency debt ratings by six notches at once to "B3" from "Baa3", continued to worsen its assessment of Russia's creditworthiness, Interfax reported.

The rating was downgraded from "B3" to "Ca", the agency said on Sunday. This is due to concerns that capital control measures imposed by the Bank of Russia will hinder the servicing of sovereign debt to foreign investors.

The outlook on the rating is negative.

According to Moody's methodology, debt obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely to be in default or close to it. At the same time, there is some probability of repayment of principal and interest on the debt. Average historical expectations for the level of payments to creditors on total debt with a Ca rating range from 35% to 65%.

Moody's worse rating reflects the fact that, according to the NSD, the coupon income on OFZ on March 2 was paid only to local bondholders, and non-residents did not receive money due to the Central Bank ban, it said. The restrictions raise significant doubts about Russia's willingness to service its debt, Moody's said.

The negative outlook on the rating, in addition to this risk, reflects possible implications for macroeconomic stability from the imposition of tough and coordinated sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the release said.