What do you think 'US dollar foreign reserves' are? A dollar is a promise that the US will supply goods and services in the future to whoever holds it. Hence "

What do you think 'US dollar foreign reserves' are? A dollar is a promise that the US will supply goods and services in the future to whoever holds it. Hence "full faith and credit". All money is debt. The West defaulted on its debt first, and other countries in the world holding Dollars, Euros and Pounds as 'reserves' noticed that the West can stop them using those Dollars, Euros and Pounds whenever they feel like it. It's not just Russia's "credit rating" that has been affected here. Expect countries shipping their exports to the West to demand real things in return, not just financial promises that may not be delivered.