Ukraine Crisis Escalates, Crypto Finds Place Amid Russian Invasion, Ruble Plunges And More: 5 Key Headlines You May Have Missed From This Weekend

Heading into a new trading week amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, here is a quick roundup of the top five stories from the corporate, economic and cryptocurrency sectors that investors would not want to miss out on from the weekend.

1. Ukraine Crisis Escalates: Belarus is planning to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to support Russia, it was reported late Sunday, citing the Washington Post. The news comes just hours after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces to be placed on high alert following what he described as “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers.

2. Ukraine Raises $11M in Crypto Donations: Ukraine has raised almost $11 million following its public appeal for donations in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of the country.

3. Stock Markets, Ruble Falter As Sanctions on Russia Weigh: Asian stock markets such as Hong Kong and U.S. stock futures tumbled on Monday, while the Russian Ruble plunged as much as 40% below Friday’s level as investors assessed the impact of the harsher sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

4. Edward Snowden Breaks Silence on Russia’s Ukraine Invasion: Former CIA agent and whistleblower Edward Snowden has explained why he remained silent over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Snowden — who was called out by some commentators on Twitter for earlier misreading the situation — said he has “lost confidence” that sharing his thinking on the topic continued to be useful.

5. Nio Wins Approval For Hong Kong Listing: Tesla Inc. TSLA rival Nio Inc. NIO said its shares are expected to begin trading in Hong Kong on March 10 after the Chinese electric vehicle maker secured a key approval for a secondary listing in the financial hub following months of delays.

What Else: Among other stories from the weekend, investors would want to check out the EV week in review, how major U.S. companies including Apple Inc. AAPL responded to the Ukraine crisis, and the ten largest stock holdings of legendary investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B).

Ahead of the arrival of the latest installment of the “Batman” franchise in U.S. theaters on March 4, investors may also want to take a look at the ten weirdest Batman Ripoffs.