Global stock markets have taken a dive and oil process have soared to levels not seen in eight years after Russian troops moved into Ukraine overnight.
Explosions were reported in different parts of the country with Russia’s military saying it had targeted Ukrainian air bases and other military assets and not targeted populated areas.
Accusing the West of ignoring Russian demands to prevent Ukraine from joining Nato, Vladimir Putin issued a warning to other countries that any attempt to interfere with his actions would lead to “consequences they have never seen”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The 海角视频 and our allies will respond decisively."
TV images from Kyiv this morning showed long tailbacks as people fled the city and there were reports of queues at cashpoints and petrol stations.
TV reports said a number of people had died in the attacks.
Aircraft flying to or from 海角视频 airports are being ordered to avoid Ukraine airspace and Wizz Air has cancelled its flights between Luton Airport and the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Lviv.
The PA News agency reported that trading was suspended on the Moscow Stock Exchange this morning before reopening down nearly 30 per cent – and the rouble plummeted to a record low against the dollar.
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In London, the FTSE 100 leading index of shares lost more than 200 points when opening at 8am. By 9.16am it was down 176 points, or 2.35 per cent. The FTSE 250 was down 2 per cent.
France and Germany saw even heavier falls, with the country’s leading stock markets dropping 3.7 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively in early trading.
Russian-facing companies on the FTSE 100 took the brunt of the hits, with further sanctions looming.
Shares in mining firms Evraz and Polymetal International both fell by nearly 30 per cent. Only three of the 100 companies saw shares in positive territory during early trading.
Starting from around 3am 海角视频 time, attacks were reported across Ukraine, including in several western cities, close to the border with Poland.
That triggered the price of Brent crude oil to jump by 6.3 per cent by a little after 8am 海角视频 time to 102.90 dollars per barrel, hitting its highest point since 2014.
Markets expert Russ Mould, from stockbroker AJ Bell, on what Russia invasion means for markets
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said although 海角视频 stock market had dived following the invasion of Ukraine, it had not been hit as badly as France and Germany.
He said: “That is partially down to the 海角视频 market having a large weighting towards the energy sector, with index giants BP and Shell benefiting from oil breaking through $100 a barrel.
“While both these stocks were down in absolute terms, relative to the market they fell by a smaller amount.
"Interestingly, Shell only dipped 0.4 per cent whereas BP was down by a greater amount at 2.6 per cent which can be explained by its near-20 per cent stake in Russian oil producer Rosneft whose own shares dived 40 per cent on Thursday.
“The surge in the oil price is terrible news for businesses and consumers, and fundamentally this clarifies one of the key impacts of the Russia/Ukraine war – it will serve to further stoke inflation.
“Not only will energy bills keep going up, but food prices look set to jump even higher. Ukraine and Russia are both big food suppliers and any disruption to supplies will force buyers to seek alternative sources, which could jack up prices.
“Investor sentiment was already fragile because of rising inflation and the upwards direction of travel for interest rates, but confirmation of war and the associated alarming news headlines around the world are likely to see equity markets go through a difficult period for longer than people might have previously expected.
“The 2.6 per cent decline in the FTSE 100 was bad news for the millions of savers and investors who have money in 海角视频 equities, but it is by no means one of the worst days in history for the 海角视频 market.
"It ranked number 186 in terms of the most severe single day falls since records began."
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Around the same time the rouble tanked. The US dollar gained more than 10 per cent against the Russian currency at one point.
European currencies also fell against the dollar, with the euro down 0.6 per cent against the dollar and the pound down 0.6 per cent against the dollar.
Early in the morning the Moscow Stock Exchange said it had “suspended trading on all of its markets until further notice”.
But it later restarted at 10am local time, 7am in the 海角视频, at which point it dropped 30 per cent.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday morning that he had spoken to the leaders of the US, Germany, the EU, Poland and the 海角视频.
He said he had “urged to stop Putin, war against (Ukraine) and the world immediately. Building an anti-Putin coalition. Immediate sanctions, defence and financial support to (Ukraine). Close the airspace. The world must force (Russia) into peace”.