Putin is paying a price:

Russian assets dries up after President Vladimir Putin’s military forces took over parts of neighboring Ukraine. The ruble sank 1.8 percent against the dollar today, more than any other currency tracked by Bloomberg, while the benchmark Micex stock index plunged more than 11 percent and benchmark bond yields soared.... The rout today extends the ruble’s slide this year to 10 percent, a selloff exacerbated by the upheaval in Ukraine that led to the ouster of Putin’s ally last month and Russia’s incursion into the Crimea peninsula over the weekend.