How Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. And how the markets tanked
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin listens (C) to Ivan Buvaltsev the Russian Army’s chief department of combat readiness (R) as he watches military exercises at Kirillovsky firing site in Leningrad, on March 3, 2014. Sergei Shoigu (L), was there.
Getty Images| AFP | Getty Images
The warnings that a war is imminent and the massive buildup of troops near Ukraine’s border give people a sense of déjà vu.
Recent tensions have brought back memories of the beginning stages of conflict eight years ago. These included the Russian annexe of Crimea from Ukraine and bloodshed in Donetsk, Luhansk, and other regions to the east. This is still ongoing today.
Russia’s seizing of Crimea was not a result of a long-standing relationship between the former Soviet countries. However, it was destabilized governments and protests on streets in Kyiv at the beginning 2014 that led to its conclusion. Russian President Vladimir PutinMake his move.
EU rejection
Ukraine’s pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych declared his disapproval of closer ties to Europe in November 2013. refusing to sign an association agreementOn the eve a Vilnius summit, Lithuania.
Yanukovych was pressured by RussiaAnd it offered Ukraine financial assistance in the amount of $15 billion. However, there were also allegations that Brussels as well the International Monetary Fund were rigid in their efforts to save Ukraine’s economy from collapse.
Beeldbewerking | iStock | Getty Images
Markets shaken
A market rally on Wall Street faded Friday afternoonRumours about a Russian military strike. This week, the rubleFall to an all-time low the euroA five-year low against the dollar. The hryvnia of Ukraine had collapsed due to fears about a default.
On the Monday after, following a weekend of Ukraine preparing for war, the German DAX — with its heavy exposure to Russian gas — fell 3.3%, it’s biggest fall at the time since May 2012. The Russian stock market plunged by 10.8% the same day.
Moscow-listed MegaFon shares, a mobile operator, fell 11%. Rosneft was down 4% and Gazprom lost 14.5%. Sberbank plunged 15%. The shares of Russian companies QIWI, Mobile Telesystems and Mobile Telesystems also suffered, with closing down 11% & 12.6%, respectively.
Other companies that are exposed to Russia or Ukraine include the French automaker RenaultThe sank 5% on Monday and Italy’s soared 7% UniCreditThis dropped by 4.1%
‘Little green men’
The Russian president initially denied that the unbadged soldiers in Crimea — now known as Putin’s “little green men” — were Russian troops, before an admission the following month.
On March 2, 2014, several hundred soldiers occupied positions near a Ukrainian military station in Crimea.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images
Crimea voted for Ukraine to leave in March. The referendum was condemned by the United States and Europe as illegal, and it triggered sanctions.
On March 21, Putin signed legislation that completed the process of absorbing Crimea into RussiaThis was despite Western leaders, such as Barack Obama at the time, being heavily criticised for being too soft on Russia’s invasion.
William Hague was Britain’s foreign minister at the time. He called Russia’s actions “the greatest crisis in Europe in 21st-century.”
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