Europe midday: Stocks at session lows as Russian land invasion unfolds

Stock markets across Europe are trading near their session lows as Russia's invasion of Ukraine unfolds, leaving investors to wait for the announcement of sanctions, possibly as soon as Thursday, and for more detail regarding the situation on the ground.

"It’s probably not hyperbole to say that Europe is now at its most dangerous juncture since World War 2," Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK mused out loud.

The pan-European Stoxx was plummeting 3.80% to 436.48, alongside a 4.97% drop on the German Dax to 13,892.19 and similar falls in the region's other main indices.

In parallel, front-dated Brent crude oil futures were climbing roughly 8.1% to $104.64 per barrel on the ICE.

But that was dwarfed by the 35.26% plunge in Moscow's RTS index to 776.89, although the US dollar had pared its gains against the Russian rouble to stand 2.39% higher at 83.62.

Regional bourses closer to Russia were also slammed, with Poland's WIG 20 for instance down by 10,59% to 1,823.11.

Russia's 2033 bond in US dollars crashed, pushing its yield to 88.0%, even as the local currency market was suspended and limits imposed on daily cash withdrawals.

Artillery and missile strikes overnight were followed mid-morning by incursions of Russian armoured and tank units from Crimea in the south and from Belarus to the north.

The latest reports indicated that Russian forces were now 150 kilometres distance away from the capital, Kiev.

Tanks, possibly Russian army, were spotted outside Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is located near the border with Russia in the country's northeast.

Initial strikes across Ukraine, including against Kiev and in its west and centre had reportedly targeted the country's military infrastructure, including airfields.

Bloomberg's Clara Ferreira Marques labelled the scale of Putin's actions remarkable and not just "given his scant regard for repercussions, an effort to destroy a neighbour and destabilise the region.

"It's also the scale of the delusion, when it comes to the threat posed by NATO and - crucially - his country's long-term ability to bear the human and financial costs of isolation."