• Market reaction to Ukraine: increased nervousness

European Union foreign ministers brandished the threat of sanctions on Russia for seizing swathes of Ukraine’s territory, Bloomberg said, while giving the Kremlin a chance to pull back its troops and seek a negotiated settlement.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said that the gradual ratcheting-up of pressure on Russia will bear fruit.

“Things add up,” he said. “Every single measure in itself might look weak. But add things up and it changes things rather fundamentally.”