Risk-off start to week: Russia's Putin puts nuclear deterrence forces on high alert

In the latest escalation to the Ukraine crisis, Russia's Vladimir Putin has been reported to order his military to put Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert.

“Senior officials of the leading Nato countries also allow aggressive statements against our country, therefore I order the minister of defence and the chief of the general staff [of the Russian armed forces] to transfer the deterrence forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty,” Putin said in televised comments.

The Guardian reports:

''The Russian leader is prepared to resort to the most extreme level of brinkmanship in his effort to achieve victory in Ukraine.''

''The US accused Putin of “totally unacceptable” escalation and made clear that it would keep up its support of Ukraine and punitive measures on Russia. With the EU also announcing unprecedented new measures against Moscow, it was clear that Putin’s assault on Ukraine had failed to yield the quick victories he had anticipated but had instead rallied a concerted western response that was potentially devastating for Russia’s economy.''

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, announced that a delegation from Kyiv would meet Russian officials without preconditions on his country’s border with Belarus, but it was far from clear Putin was ready to entertain talks that did not involve compliance with his demands that Ukraine accept partition and disarm.''

Market implications

A risk-off start to the week would be expected and the yen's Doji is worth noting: