The key index of Russia’s main stock exchange tumbled 20 percent after a delayed opening as investors feared the effects of Western sanctions following Moscow’s decision to attack Ukraine.
NATO nations on the alliance’s so-called “eastern flank” condemned Russia’s early morning attack on Ukraine, with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis labeling it a "very grave breach of international law.”
The Polish government urged NATO to bolster its forces in the East after Russian forces rocked Ukrainian cities early on February 24 in missile attacks aimed at airports and military infrastructure.
Belarus's authoritarian leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, says his military is not taking part in the February 24 Russian attack on Ukraine, state media reported.
Kazakh authorities have arrested another former deputy chief of the Committee of National Security (KNB) over deadly unrest that shook the Central Asian nation last month.