US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement that he believes Russia will attack Ukraine before tonight ends (US time) has sparked panic in markets during the Asian session.
The US dollar giant surged higher following the statement as it is also considered a safe-haven in this situation.
Ukraine had previously declared a state of emergency beginning Feb. 24 for 30 days when intelligence reports from the United States indicated Russia was likely to strike within the next 48 hours.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also claimed that about 200,000 Russian troops had been near its border. All members of the Ukrainian Army Reserve Force aged 18 to 60 were also reported to have been called to duty immediately on Wednesday.
In addition, several Ukrainian government websites were offline after a DDoS attack believed to have been carried out by Russia.
As a result, the euro, which had previously strengthened following hawkish statements from European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers, returned to a two -week low against the greenback.
While other safe-haven currencies, the yen and the swiss franc also showed gains although the gains recorded were somewhat limited due to the stronger greenback dollar.
