Meanwhile, investors flocked to safe-haven plays amid a broader risk-off trade across global markets. Gold prices surged 2.1% to $1,970 an ounce, hovering around a one-year high. WTI crude oil jumped to its highest level since July 2014, notching the biggest surge since Nov. 2020.

European allies acted in lockstep to reprimand Russian aggression. Germany halted approval of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that would have deepened western Europe's energy link to Russia, the world's largest natural gas exporter. Fears of other energy-linked sanctions sent crude oil prices to a seven-year high and Brent crude towards $100 per barrel.

"Putin knew these were going to be coming," CSIS International Security Program senior adviser Mark Cancian told Yahoo Finance Live. "He took his move anyway, so it's unlikely that they will deter him."