MELBOURNE (Reuters) – S&P on Saturday lowered Russia’s foreign currency ratings to “selective default” on increased risks that Moscow will not be able and willing to honor its commitments to foreign debtholders.

Russia is facing sanctions from the West for invading Ukraine. However, Russia has made agreements to pay an international bond payment in rubles. The amount was due in dollars, but it could be in danger of default.

S&P said in a statement it understood that Russia had made coupon and principal payments on dollar-denominated Eurobonds in rubles on Monday.

“The government is unlikely to be able convert these payments in dollars to pay the due amount, nor do we expect investors to make the conversion within the 30-day grace period.”

According to the agency, Russia will likely face more sanctions over the next weeks. This “threatens Russia’s willingness to respect the terms of its foreign debtholders obligations.”

Russia’s finance minister said on Thursday that Russia would do all it can to repay its creditors. But investors in Russia’s international bonds are facing an uncertain future and a less likely path to recoup their capital should Russia default.

S&P assigns a selective default rating when it believes the debtor has selectively defaulted on a specific issue or class of obligations but will continue to meet its payment obligations on other issues or classes of obligations in a timely manner.

Russia has not fallen behind on its foreign debt since its 1917 Revolution, however its bonds have become a flashpoint of Russia’s economic struggle with Western countries.

An unplanned default would have been impossible until very recently. Russia has been rated as an investment grade during the period leading up to its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which Moscow refers to as a “specially military operation”.