As the attack on Ukraine by Russia commenced as expected in the early hours Thursday, US and world leaders scurried to denounce Russia, warning of harsh consequences for its actions.
Russian troops launched their predicted onslaught on Ukraine, ignoring international condemnation and sanctions and warning other countries that any effort at interference would result in “consequences you have never seen.”
Attack On Ukraine Deals Heavy Pounding On Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s price plunged precipitously after Putin announced on live television a “special military operation” to complete Ukraine’s “demilitarization.”
According to CoinMarketCap data, the total cryptocurrency market value has decreased by almost 5% during the last 24 hours, to $1.6 trillion.
A significant portion of such losses occurred in the early aftermath of the Russian attack. Bitcoin fell from a high of $37,000 to below $35,500 in less than 30 minutes.
BTC total market cap at $658.004 billion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
Statements Made By Some Of The World’s Leaders
Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“Bring your troops back to Russia, President Putin, in the cause of humanity. Allow not to commence in Europe what could be the worst war since the turn of the century, in the name of humanity.”
Sauli Niinistö, President of Finland:
“I categorically denounce Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. Russia’s actions are directed towards Ukraine, but they also constitute an attack on the entire European security order.”
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister:
“Putin has just launched an attack on Ukraine on a large scale. Ukraine’s peaceful cities are under strike. This is a war of aggresson. The world must stop Putin. The time has come to act.”
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Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO:
“I vehemently oppose Russia’s reckless war on Ukraine, which jeopardizes the lives of untold civilians. This is a flagrant violation of international law and a severe threat to the Euro-Atlantic security community.”
Barbara Woodward, British ambassador to the UN:
“Today is a grave moment for Ukraine and the United Nations’ founding ideals. We and our partners have made it quite clear that Russia’s actions will have consequences.”
Global Markets Pummeled
Meanwhile, it is not just the cryptocurrency markets that are shaken. Today, the US stock markets resumed their descent into correction territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling nearly 2%.
Asian markets, which were open at the time of Putin’s speech, are also reacting; the Nikkei is down 1%, while China’s Hang Seng Index is down more than 2%.
Related Article | Bitcoin Price Plummets As Russia-Ukraine Tensions Escalate
Featured image from Forbes, chart from TradingView.com