EU leaders condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine as they line up further sanctions

The presidents of the European Council and European Commission, Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen have jointly condemned Russia's unprecedented military aggression against Ukraine by what they described as unprovoked and unjustified military actions.

The European leaders will meet later today with European Council President Michel urgently convening an extraordinary meeting of the European Council to discuss the crisis and further restrictive measures, including meting out massive and severe consequences on Russia for its actions. European Commission President von der Leyen and High Representative Josep Borrell will also announce further sanctions to be adopted by members and partners.

Meanwhile, financial markets across Asia, Europe and US were reporting losses as news of the attack broke. The Russian MOEX Index was down 29%, Singapore's STI down more than 3%, Japan's Nikkei down about 2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng down more than 3%, S&P, Dow Jones and Nasdaq Futures were down more than 2%, London FTSE and most European exchanges were down about 3% in early trade.

European banks' stocks were under particular pressures, down by more than 4%, as they are expected to bear the brunt of sanctions to be announced.

On the other hand, gold and oil prices soared reflecting the increased risk conditions, the latter crossing the $100 per barrel mark.

Economists and analysts have widely identified the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict as one of the key risk events that could scupper global economic recovery, as the world struggles to emerge from COVID-19.

Click here to read the full joint statement