The Russian stock market lost more than 10% in main trading on the background of geopolitical tensions. Sberbank shares were among the leaders, falling by 15%. Gazprom shares lost 9%, according to Moscow Exchange data.
Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin held an extraordinary meeting of the Russian Security Council. They discussed the situation in Donbas and the recognition of the DNR and LNR. The President promised to make a decision today.
Foreign policy news also served as an additional reason to sell out. Reuters sources reported that the US President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing a set of sanctions against Russia, which includes a ban on the processing of transactions by major banks.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had previously warned that Russia could lose access to financial markets.
On February 18, the authorities of the unrecognized Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics announced the mobilization of the male population and the evacuation of civilians to Russia. Due to refugees from Donbass, the authorities of the Rostov, Volgograd, and Penza Regions introduced a state of emergency. According to the Acting Head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations Alexander Chupriyan, more than 70,000 refugees from Donbass have already arrived in Russia.
In addition, the media today reported the arrival of volunteers from Crimea to the Donbass to protect the “right to self-determination” of the inhabitants of the DNR and LNR.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Donetsk city administration reported night-time shelling by Ukrainian security forces, which resulted in damage to two school buildings. Representatives of the DNR and LNR also reported the death of several civilians as a result of the shelling.
The Russian stock market lost more than 10% in main trading. Photo: TASS
