Energy giants BP and Shell, global bank HSBC and the world’s biggest aircraft leasing firm AerCap joined a growing list of companies looking to exit Russia on Monday, as Western sanctions tightened the screws on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The West has moved to punish Russia with a raft of measures, including closing airspace to Russian aircraft, shutting out some Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial network and restricting Moscow’s ability to use its $630 billion foreign reserves. read more

Russia’s economy was already reeling on Monday. The rouble plunged to a record low, while the central bank doubled its key interest rate to 20%, and kept stock markets and derivative markets closed.

Shell on Monday said it would exit all its Russian operations, including the flagship Sakhalin 2 LNG plant in which it holds a 27.5% stake, and which is 50% owned and operated by Russian gas group Gazprom. – Reuters