The news of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine shocked countries and markets, and several leaders warned that the conflict would be the biggest in Europe since World War II.
After months of Russian military build up along the borders of Ukraine, and a fiery speech that denied the country's statehood, Putin's offensive against the European country has ripped up the international status quo.
This is a global event. Timothy Ash, emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management and a long time Russia and Ukraine analyst, told CNBC on Thursday that Putin is changing an iron curtain across Europe.
We need to take a fresh look at how we look at European and Western security, the role of Russian business, and Russia Inc. in Western markets.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union was one of the things that Putin described in his own words.
The Iron curtain is a term that was popularized by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.
The former KGB colonel, who has been in control of Russia in one form or another since 1999, wants to reestablish the Soviet empire's prestige and influence in Europe.
The Kremlin claims that there will be an occupation, but NATO and the Ukrainian government deny that. Multiple Ukrainian cities have reportedly been hit by Russian missiles.
Despite no evidence that Ukraine poses a threat to Russia, Putin has vowed to protect it. For weeks, Putin rejected Western claims that he would launch an invasion of Ukraine.
Barriers are set to come up across Western and NATO countries against Russia as governments deploy economic sanctions and European allies increase their defense spending. President Joe Biden and NATO heads of state have vowed severe sanctions on Russian officials and its economy, while the leaders of Ukraine have urged the world to aggressively isolate Russia.
The sanctions response would be drawn in from the U.S. and the West more broadly, according to a Foreign Policy Research Institute fellow. He said that the threatened sanctions were going to make that a reality.
The U.S. is going to impose more sanctions on Moscow after it failed to stop Putin's incursion into Ukraine.
"We should expect wide-ranging limits on trading Russian debt and financing for Russian companies," he said.
Sanctions can only go so far. If Russia responds in kind, it will have substantial costs for the West. There is imminent political turmoil in agricultural, metals and hydrocarbons.
Russia's ruble hit a record low against the dollar on Thursday, with Moscow's main stock index falling as much as 45%. International stock markets all traded in the red, and prices of safe-haven assets like gold and bonds soared. Russian exports of precious metals such as silver, Platinum and palladium saw their prices spike.
The sanctions being called for by Ukraine and some lawmakers in the West include severing Russia from the global banking system. Russia has built up a formidable war chest of international reserves and worked on the de-dollarization of its economy, raising the question of how effective it is.
The beginning of a large-scale war in Ukraine will be the end of the world order according to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
The international security system and international institutions are tasked with maintaining the global security order if Russia does not get a swift and decisive response.
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