Europe open: Stocks reel as Russia attacks Ukraine, Moscow's RTS plummets
Financial markets across Europe reeled after Russia launched strikes across Ukraine, purportedly targeting the country's military infrastructure, including against its capital Kiev.
"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 off by 2.86% at 440.88, alongside a 3.48% drop on the German Dax to 14,127.13 and similar falls in the region's other main indices.
In parallel, front-dated Brent crude oil futures were climbing 6.6% to $103.23 per barrel on the ICE.
But that was nothing compared to the 32.45% plunge in Moscow's RTS index to 813.35, while the US dollar climbed 4.51% to 85.35.
Regional bourses closer to Russia were also slammed, with Poland's WIG 20 for instance down by 8,75% to 1,860.50 and the country's currency slumping by 1.67% versus the Greenback.
The full extent of the military operations were not immediately clear.
In a pre-dawn announcement on Russian TV, Vladimir Putin said his aim was to "demilitarise" Ukraine and change its leaders, but that Moscow was not planning to "occupy" its neighbour.
Putin also made a strident warning against foreign military intervention.
Overnight, separatists in Ukraine's east had requested support from Russia.
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."