Russia attacks Ukraine

News for today, Thursday, February 24

Vladimir Putin has authorized a “special military operation” in Ukraine today. Shortly after, many Ukrainians have begun to publish footage of a full-scale Russian invasion. Explosions can be heard even in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Commercial airways have stopped operating in Ukraine and the southwest part of Russia. The Moscow Exchange has stopped all trading on Thursday. Crude oil hit the highest levels since 2014 while all major stock futures slump: DAX futures of Germany is down 3.8%, CAC futures of France has dropped 3.9%, and FTSE 100 futures of UK fell 2.5%. American stock is depressed accordingly: Dow futures plummeted 2.19%, Nasdaq is down 2.73%, and S&P 500 is 2.26% lower.

The world has already responded with sanctions against Russia: the West, Japan, South Korea, and Australia have imposed measures and threatened to go further if Russia doesn’t stop its invasion.

The price of Brent crude is $99.88, WTI — $98.09, GBP/USD — 1.3462, EUR/USD — 1.1243, and gold costs $1944.81 per ounce.