The Russian ruble fell to 61.2 against the dollar after Putin announced a partial mobilization of the army

The Russian ruble fell 1% to 61.2 against the dollar on Wednesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of the army in a speech broadcast on state television.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s first military mobilization since World War II, warning the West that if it continued what he described as “nuclear blackmail”, Moscow would respond with all the force it had in its huge arsenal.

“If our territorial integrity is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people, this is not deception,” Putin said in a speech broadcast on Russian television.

Putin added that he signed a decree of partial mobilization, and the move is a major escalation in the conflict.