the country’s military assault on Ukraine, a conflict that entered its fifth day on Monday. The U.S.-based shipping companies had previously suspended all shipping services to and from Ukraine.
Later updates shared online noted how both have temporarily stopped delivering all shipments bound for Russia, as well. UPS noted in a service alert that packages already en route to Russia or Ukraine will be returned free of charge to the sender if possible. "Our focus is on the safety of our people, providing continued service and minimizing disruption to our customers," the Atlanta-based company said in a notice. "UPS continues to closely monitor the situation and will re-establish service as soon as it is practical and safe to do so."FedEx said it was also "closely monitoring the situation and have contingency plans in place, including temporarily suspending inbound and outbound services to Ukraine and inbound service to Russia until further notice."FILE - A FedEx Corp.
truck passes a United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) facility in New York, U.S., on Oct. 23, 2015. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images Meanwhile, Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the Russian currency plummeting, leading uneasy people to line up at banks and ATMs in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in the post-Soviet era.The ruble plunged about 30% against the U.S.
dollar Monday after Western nations announced moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and to restrict Russia's use of its massive foreign currency reserves.