Russian-born Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted in his mother tongue on Wednesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “is a crime against the Ukrainian and Russian people.” According to the New York Times report, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on national TV at around 6 a.m. local time the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine designed to achieve the “demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. 

Vitalik Buterin called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a crime.

“Very upset by Putin’s decision to abandon the possibility of a peaceful solution to the dispute with Ukraine and go to war instead,” Vitalki Buterin tweeted. Earlier this month, Buterin had appealed to Putin—in Russian—to de-escalate a conflict of Russia’s own making, tweeting, “An attack on Ukraine can only harm Russia, Ukraine, and humanity.” Ethereum co-founder was born in Russia in the years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union before emigrating with his family to Canada in 2000—the same year Putin became president. 

Очень расстроен решением Путина отказаться от возможности мирного решения спора с Украиной и вместо этого начать войну. Это преступление против украинского и русского народа.

Хочу желать всем безопасности, хотя знаю, что не какой безопасности не будет.

Слава Украине.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 24, 2022

Bitcoin falls after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The price of the largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, dropped below $35,000 for the first time since July 2021 on Thursday as Russia began its military operation in Ukraine. Some analysts had previously warned that the sell-off could continue to worsen until tensions subside in eastern Europe. In contrast, the price of crude oil continued to shoot up, with Brent crude futures soaring more than 4.5%, crossing $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014. Bitcoin fell as much as 7.4% to $34,783. The second-largest crypto Ether also declined as much as 8.7% to $2,390.61. Other coins like XRP, Cardano, and Solana were down as well.