US warns Ukraine of full-scale Russian attack within 48 hours - Newsweek
According to US intelligence sources speaking to Newsweek, the US has informed Ukraine of a Russian plan to invade with 48 hours. An intelligence official told Newsweek that the US had informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Russian plan would involve air strikes, cruise missiles, ground troops and cyber attacks.
The US intelligence source said that they had information suggesting Russian aircraft violated Ukrainian airspace on Wednesday, and perhaps could have been a reconnaissance mission. Another US intelligence source said that an invasion operation would likely begin at night and would be pre-empted by cyber attacks. Somewhat ominously, separate reports indicate that several Ukrainian government websites are currently suffering from cyber attacks.
Market Reaction
The latest headlines appear to be souring the market's mood, with US equities now on the back foot and the S&P 500 index at lows of the day in the 4,310 area, though still trading positively on the day (just). Perhaps a better gauge of the market's feeling regarding the tense geopolitical situation in USD/RUB - the pair has surged more than 1.0% since the US open and briefly surpassed its March 2020 highs by going above 81.00.
Author
Joel Frank
Independent Analyst
Joel Frank is an economics graduate from the University of Birmingham and has worked as a full-time financial market analyst since 2018, specialising in the coverage of how developments in the global economy impact financial asset
