How war breaks the value chains

Shipping giant Maersk will temporarily halt all container shipping to and from Russia, deepening the country’s isolation as its invasion of Ukraine sparks an exodus of Western companies. Here's how corporate ties to Russia have been uprooted.

U.S. payment card firms Visa and Mastercard have blocked multiple Russian financial institutions from their network and major investors, including hedge fund Man Group and British asset manager abrdn, said they were cutting their positions in Russia.

Bitcoin has leapt since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, bolstered by people in those countries looking to store and move money in anonymous and decentralized crypto. Bitcoin trading denominated in the Russian rouble went into overdrive when the invasion began on Thursday, with daily volumes rising 259% from a day earlier.

Global supply chains, already hit hard by the pandemic, are facing further disruption and cost inflation as airspace closures affect the air freight industry. Transport between Europe and north Asian destinations like Japan, South Korea and China has become particularly problematic.

Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Pyotr Aven said they would contest the "spurious and unfounded basis" of European Union sanctions. The EU said "Aven is one of Vladimir Putin’s closest oligarchs" and that Fridman had been "referred to as a top Russian financier and enabler of Putin’s inner circle."