LONDON — European stocks are expected to open lower on Tuesday amid reports that a significant armored Russian convoy is heading towards Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.

The U.K. FTSEIndex is opening at 7.414, Germany, 46 points less DAX 129 point lower at 14,351, France’s CAC 40 down 63 points at 6,600 and Italy’s FTSE MIBAccording to data from IG, it was 174 points less at 25,175,

Russia may have upped its aggression in Ukraine by releasing satellite imagery and reports of an extended convoy that ran for 40 miles (65 km) of Russian military vehicles, heading toward Kyiv.

Maxar Technologies captured the satellite images on Monday. They show an armored truck convoy travelling at times two to three vehicles per lane on the roadway. However, the convoy has not been confirmed by official sources.

Maxar also shows additional military activity in south Belarus. This country borders Ukraine, and it is an ally to Russia. The images show ground force deployments as well as ground attack helicopter units. These units could be preparing for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but official sources do not confirm this. There were reports on Monday that Belarus might be planning to aid Russia in its invasion.

Asia-Pacific marketsMonday was mostly a rose day, however U.S. stock futures also rose in overnight tradingBefore the March 1st trading session, investors continued to follow the ongoing fighting between Russia & Ukraine.

Europe earns from Bayer and Covestro as well as HelloFresh (Zalando), HelloFresh (Zalando) and Covestro. Data released include data about German retail sales in January, and the final euro zone manufacturing activity data from February.