On Monday, the rouble plunged nearly 30% to an all-time low against the dollar, while the euro fell after Western nations announced new sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including blocking some banks from the SWIFT international payments system.
The U.S. dollar and the yen were in demand after Russian President Vladimir Putin put nuclear-armed forces on high alert on Sunday, the fourth day of the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.
The rouble dropped to as low as 119 per dollar RUB EBS, and was last down 28.77% at 118.
The euro EUREBS fell by 0.76% to $1.11855 after earlier falling as much as 1.34%. The single currency lost 0.73% to 129.265 yen EURJPYEBS, and was 0.60% lower at 1.03665 Swiss franc EURCHF EBS.
The escalating crisis in Ukraine will force markets to price in a higher geopolitical risk premium, and that is going to leave safe havens like the USD bid, Westpac strategists wrote in a client note.
The Ukrainian situation is volatile, and so is market sentiment, although a risk-averse backdrop near term appears to be the most prudent assumption, meaning more downside for Australian and New Zealand dollars, they said.
The Aussie slid 0.75% to $0.7183 AUD D 3, while New Zealand's kiwi fell 0.79% to $0.66915 NZD D 3.
The pound's GBP D 3 was off 0.29% at $1.33695.