The ruble dropped to as low as 89.98 per dollar and is currently at 84.46 against the greenback as investors ditch the Russian currency and turn to safe-havens.
Meanwhile, the euro fell as much as 0.84 percent to $1.1209, the lowest level since Jan. 3. It is currently at $1.1166 as of 10:32 a.m. GMT.
The euro also fell against some other traditional haven currencies, declining as much as 1.28 percent to a nearly one-month low of 128.37 Japanese yen and sinking to a multi-year low to the Swiss franc, where it is currently trading at 1.03 francs.
Riskier commodity-linked currencies like the Australian dollar also fell by as much as 0.90 percent to $0.7167 and the New Zealand dollar slid as much as 1.00 percent to $0.6706.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “brutal” and “unprovoked,” while announcing new sanctions on 25 more individuals and four financial institutions, including “commanders, deputy defense ministers, and Russian mercenaries who have been responsible for the unprovoked and unacceptable aggression.”
“The situation certainly looks like it’s going to get worse before it gets better, and that means the commodity currencies can weaken,” Joseph Capurso, a strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, told Reuters.
Elsewhere, the Moscow Exchange announced Thursday that it has suspended trading on all of its markets until further notice after a big sell-off of Russian assets, but trading resumed at 10 a.m. Moscow time.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Russia said in a statement that in order to “stabilize the situation on the financial market” it had decided to “start interventions in the foreign exchange market,” adding that it and other financial institutions “have clear action plans for any scenario.”
In a separate statement, the bank said it had ordered brokers to stop allowing traders to place bets against Russian shares, known as short selling, on the Russian exchange and over-the-counter markets until further notice.
“In connection with the current situation in the financial market and in order to protect the rights and legitimate interests of investors in the financial markets, reduce risks, and limit excessive volatility, the Bank of Russia ordered brokers to suspend short sales on exchange and over-the-counter market,” the bank said.
The tumbling value of the Russian ruble comes after explosions were reported in multiple cities across Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Odesa as well as the capital of Kyiv, shortly after Putin announced the launch of military action against Ukraine.
Livestream video footage obtained by CNN also shows tanks rolling into Ukraine from a border crossing with Belarus at around 6:48 a.m. local time.
Ukraine’s defense ministry called the action “an unjustified, deceitful, and cynical invasion,” while world leaders have condemned the move.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday that the EU will present a package of “massive and targeted sanctions” against Russia that will block its access to critical technology and other markets.
“We will target the strategic sectors of the Russian economy by blocking the access to technologies and markets that are key for Russia,” von der Leyen said in a statement. "We will weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize. And in addition, we will freeze Russian assets in the European Union and stop the access of Russian banks to European financial markets.
Russia’s actions in Ukraine also sent the price of oil surging above the $100 per barrel mark on Wednesday, while U.S. crude futures were up by 5.46 percent and trading at $97.56 per barrel as of 10:27 a.m. GMT.
Brent crude futures were up 6.47 percent at $103.32, the first time they have been over the $100 mark since 2014, while natural gas prices at one point surged nearly 6 percent.
