Ever since the forcible annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia in 2014 the NBU has banned any currency depicting "illustrated maps, symbols, buildings, monuments, archaeological sites, landmarks, landscapes, or any other objects, situated in the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia.", and for obvious reasons the NBU has now banned the use of all Russian and Belarusian rubles in Ukraine. This most recent ban took effect on February 24, 2022, the day of the invasion, and was an amendment to Resolution No. 18, passed by the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine, "On the operation of the banking system during the introduction of martial law". https://bank.gov.ua/ua/legislation/Resolution_24022022_21 In part the document reads:

17. Authorized institutions are prohibited from making any currency transactions operations:
  1) using Russian rubles and Belarusian rubles;

  2) the participant of which is a legal entity or an individual having a location (registered/permanently resides) in the Russian Federation or the Republic Belarus;

  3) to fulfill obligations to legal entities or individuals who are located (registered/permanently reside) in Russia Federation or in the Republic of Belarus.

As mentioned, prior to the war, there were already several Russian banknotes banned from use in Ukraine, mainly those depicting scenes and/or maps of annexed Crimea, (see Journal entry "Back In The U.S.S.R.?" for further details on those coins and notes https://boards.pmgnotes.com/blogs/entry/1412-back-in-the-ussr/ ) and Russia's 2022 100 ruble banknote is another that would have been banned even if the current events in Ukraine had not unfolded. The newest series of banknotes is part of a complete teardown/redesign of the current series originally issued in 1997, with new notes scheduled to be released from 2022 - 2025. The 100 ruble notes were supposed to be the first notes of the new series to be introduced and released into circulation on June 30th of this year (2022).

On the face is depicted Spasskaya Tower, Ostankino Television Tower, The Soaring Bridge in Zaryadye park, Zaryadye concert hall, and the main building of Moscow State University. On the back is a depiction the 82ft tall statue located at the Rzhev Memorial to the Russian Soldier complex, along with white storks, an aerial view, and a map of Russia/Russian Federation. The map, as with previous map depictions on recent issues of Russian ruble notes, depicts the Crimean Peninsula as part of the RF.  Circled in blue below.

In The Bank of Russia's eagerness to stay on schedule they seem to have ignored advise/requests to delay the announcement of the release, as the new 100 ruble notes were/are unable to circulate in large quantities due to Western companies, who maintain Russia's ATMs, point of sale terminals, and cash registers, leaving or refusing to update the machines with the required software needed for the new notes to be accepted. The refusal to cooperate with the Central Bank in the updating of equipment by these companies is due to Russia's war with Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia by a good portion of the world. Several articles state that it could take the Central Bank/Russia six months to a year before the updates are complete and the 100 ruble note can be issued or widely circulate. In the meantime, there are reports that 100 ruble notes of the 2022 design are being trickled into circulation, there are also reports that all issuance of these notes has stopped but in either case these will not be widely released or produced in large quantities until the adaptation of all banking equipment is complete or nearly so.

Several questions still remain, such as. With the need to delay the release due to a lack of equipment updates, will all subsequent releases in the new series be delayed six months to a year as well? If that is truly how long it takes to reset the system. Why weren't the updates made or a new plan laid out prior to the official announcement of the release of the 100 ruble note? Will these notes be scrapped and/or designs updated if Russia seizes more territory in Ukraine? The Bank of Russia has removed images and descriptions of the note from their website, at least from the 2022 banknote selection, and who knows what will happen next.

I'll be adding this note to my Banned in Ukraine collection of paper money, I'm not planning on including all of the current or upcoming series of rubles, only notes that fit the NBU's criteria prior to the war. These notes are currently available from a few select sellers but the prices are a little stratospheric at the moment, once these are released in full the price should drop considerably.