Fitch slashes Russia's sovereign rating to junk status

Fitch downgraded Russia to "B" from "BBB" and placed the country's ratings on "rating watch negative".

Fitch on Wednesday downgraded Russia's sovereign credit rating by six notches to "junk" status, saying Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine made it uncertain Russia could service its debt and would weaken its economy in "a huge shock" to its creditworthiness.

Russia's financial markets have been thrown into turmoil by its assault on Ukraine, the biggest on a European state since World War Two, and stiff Western sanctions.