There was a call for peace outside the Russian Embassy in Wellington on Friday as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joined the chorus of condemnation.
"By choosing to pursue this entirely avoidable path an unthinkable number of innocent lives will be lost because of Russia's decision," she said.
The Prime Minister announced New Zealand would stop exporting goods to Russian military forces, stop Russians travelling here and suspend diplomatic engagements.
"They now must face the consequences of those decisions."
This war in Europe will cost Kiwis in the pocket.
"War, we know, has got a huge cost in terms of lives - what it does to the disruption to individuals - and it also causes economic disruption as well," says Nick Tuffley.
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The first thing most of us will notice is a tumble in the value of our KiwiSaver accounts. That's because war always gives stockmarkets the jitters.
"Increased aggression and build up in troops, the market did start to anticipate it so we did see a bit of a sell-off coming into this event also," says Jeremy Ward of Jarden.
As Russian troops encroached on Ukraine's border, the New Zealand stockmarket took a dive, closing down 3.31 percent - but it began to stabilise today.
Ward says Kiwis should expect volatility.
"The distance the tanks had travelled across the country has been fairly significant so that's more of a scale of his ambitions."
The price of crude oil has already shot up to almost $150 a barrel and that'll have a flow-on effect at the pump.
There's also been a hike in food and materials exports out of Russia and Ukraine.
"Oil, wheat, corn and some metals prices have shot up not just today but in recent weeks as well," said Tuffley.
For now, stability and peace seem a long way away.
