Russia's invasion of Ukraine is impacting global financial markets and while Australia is further away from the conflict, it is not exempt from consequences.

There are three main areas we are likely to see affected – petrol, grain, and aluminium.

The price of crude oil has been steadily climbing to US$100 a barrel, and because Australia produces very little of it here, the price of petrol will continue to rise.

LIVE UPDATES: Chernobyl nuclear site seized by Russia

There has been a sudden increase of world oil prices overnight, and the price of a barrel has increased by $5 in the last 24 hours alone.

"They have jumped $10 in the last week alone, and it has been a continuation of what we have seen over the last 12 months," NRMA's Peter Khoury said today.

Mr Khoury said the prices have been particularly "volatile" recently and "will continue to be in the coming weeks".

"This is the second significant spike we have seen this week," he said.

This means Australian motorists will continue to pay more at the bowser.

However, with the average price still below $2 a litre, people are urged to "drive past" anyone charging more than that and shop around.

The price of grain may also increase as Ukraine and Russia produce nearly 25 per cent of the world's wheat.

Historically, the region has been seen as Europe's food bowl.

Now the two countries are at war that will cause the cost of wheat to spike, particularly in other parts of Europe.

However, unlike oil, Australia produces a lot of grain locally so the impact may not be felt as harshly here.

Aluminium is another resource that will likely be impacted by the war and sanctions placed on the region.

A large alumina plant in Gladstone, Queensland, is 20 per cent owned by Russia-backed company Rusal and exports aluminium.

Due to broader sanctions, aluminium prices are poised to increase, which has an impact on manufacturing throughout the supply chain.

The chair of the United Kingdom's powerful foreign affairs committee has blasted Vladimir Putin as an "appalling leader" being "used as a plaything" by China's Xi Jinping.

Tom Tugendhat is a former military officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's now a member of the British government and has warned war in Ukraine could last years.

"I think what we're going to see is a very, very ugly conflict I hope for everyone's sake the Russian army loses quickly, but if it doesn't then this war could last," he said in an interview with 9News.

READ MORE: Morrison slams China's stance over Ukraine invasion

The outspoken MP, who has been vocal in his support for Ukraine, warned China is watching the conflict in Eastern Europe to see how the West responds.

Earlier this month, China's President Xi and President Putin met in Beijing and signed a 5,000 word statement.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has branded the relationship a "coalition of autocracies".

LIVE UPDATES: Chernobyl nuclear site seized by Russia

Mr Tugendhat accused China of using Russia "as a tethered goat to see how the West reacts".

"I think it's extremely important we all stand together on Russia because what effectively China's President has done is use Putin's as a plaything," Mr Tugendhat said.

"Australia, Britain, many countries around the world, the free democracies… from Japan to the United States, need to be clear that we will stand with each other, we will defend the rule of law and we will kick out those who don't," he added.

READ MORE: 'I'm terrified': Ukrainians in Australia share the shock of Russian invasion

Beijing has long wanted to regain control of Taiwan.

President Xi has said "reunification" "must be fulfilled".

Mr Tugendhat has warned against drawing similarities between the fight in Ukraine and the risk of conflict in Taiwan.

But argued China's President has had a hand in the execution of Mr Putin's plan.

"I don't think Xi Jinping has done anything to dissuade Vladimir Putin from taking further steps," he said.

"Indeed if it wasn't for his encouragement then Vladimir Putin would not have redeployed thousands of troops from the eastern border and used them for this crime, this war crime."

Australia's Defence Minister Peter Dutton agreed President Xi could've done more.

"There's one leader in the world frankly who can exert pressure on President Putin. That is President Xi," Mr Dutton told Today this morning.

READ MORE: Reporter comes to face to face with Russian troops

"China and Russia have entered into this frankly unholy alliance and President Xi has a lot of power he can exert of President Putin.

"He has chosen not to do that."

Mr Tugendhat had a message for the two presidents to reconsider their future alliance.

"Rethink that relationship because the fundamental truth is neither China nor Russia have ever had a long-term peaceful relationship that lasts," he said.

The Conservative Party MP lashed President Putin as "selfish", accusing him of carrying out a war for his own interests.

"His strategies are always making Russia worse, making the Russian people poorer and more vulnerable," Mr Tugendhat said.

"I think he's consistently demonstrated himself to be an appalling leader."

READ MORE: What does Putin want in Ukraine? The conflict explained

But the British MP argued the diplomatic approach from the west to President Putin could've been different.

Democratic allies have imposed sanctions on banks and individuals, delivering them in "tranches".

"It's important we try and do sanctions together, but my own view is coming straight out of the gunners which is clout don't dribble," Mr Tugendhat said.

"What I mean by that is hit hard, hit early, make sure it counts.

"What you don't want to do is let people think you're not serious.

"You want people to know that you're serious early so that these things stop quickly."

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"In the middle of the night, my parents in Kyiv woke up to the sounds of explosions."

That's how the parents of Anton Bolgdanovych, a Ukrainian living in Australia, were woken yesterday after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine.

Mr Bolgdanovych's voice wavered as his spoke of his family and friends in Ukraine and the risk to their lives as Russia violently invades his homeland.

LIVE UPDATES: PM reiterates Australian military personnel won't go to Ukraine

"In the backyard of my brothers home he saw a missile land and luckily it did not explode and did not kill him," Mr Bolgdanovych said.

He's extremely worried about his family but also said he was angry at Russia and how helpless he is to help while in Australia.

This motivated him to organise a Sydney rally in a show of support of Ukraine, one of many across Australia today.

"We have parents, we have relatives, we have friends and we want to do something about it," he said.

Mr Bolgdanovych is just one of many Ukrainians living in Australia who have gathered to support one another, and to pledge their alliance with friends and family in the now war-torn nation.

Those attending the rallies around Australia today are calling for harder sanction on Russia as well as military and financial support for Ukraine to defend itself.

READ MORE: Russia seizes control of Chernobyl

Vasyl Boroviak also gathered at the rally and said his relatives were woken at 5am yesterday by the bombing.

"My family is terrified, I'm terrified… My wife is crying all the time… We don't know what do," he said.

Mr Boroviak said he is texting his family in Ukraine as he fears if he calls them, all he will do is cry.

The distress upon Ukrainians living in Australia is clear, and the impact on communication channels is only exacerbating the concern.

Olexa Matiouk said his mother couldn't get in contact with her brother when the attack began.

"My mum's brother is a security guard and he is guarding a national strategic site in central Ukraine for the first couple of hours she couldn't get in contact with him," he said.

"Obviously that was tough for her cause she grew up with him we visit him regularly eventually we were able to get through."

Mr Matiouk added what was more concerning was he was able to contact his uncle faster than his uncle's wife who is also living in Ukraine could.

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"What was worrying she was able to get through to him before his wife in Ukraine could but we were able to act as a link to provide information to his family," he said.

Mr Matiouk said his biggest concern is civilian deaths and the safety of his family.

Many Ukrainians in Sydney have also attended church services to send their prayers to Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/sophie_walsh9/status/1496975205561823239

At a church service at St Andrews Ukrainian Church in Lidcombe, Andrew Mencinsky spoke of how his late father fled the red army in 1945 as a little boy

Yesterday, his niece Pixie, did the same.

"The airlines were closed down, communications disappeared and Pixie somehow managed to grab a car and drove all the way to Poland," he said.

Some Ukrainians who spoke to 9News have emphasised how worried they are about their families, and called upon the Australian Government to provide more support.

"Please give Ukraine humanitarian aid… please give Ukraine military aid," one woman pleaded in reference to the Australian Government.

Meanwhile, Australians in Ukraine have been urged to shelter in place until it is safe to evacuate.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today 137 civilians and military personnel have been killed so far in the Russian invasion of his country.

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The White House has expressed outrage at "credible reports" from Ukrainian officials that the staff at the shuttered Chernobyl nuclear plant have been taken hostage by Russian troops.

Press secretary Jen Psaki said "we condemn it and we request their release".

Ms Psaki said the US has no assessment on the state of the plant where radioactivity is still leaking decades after the worst nuclear disaster in history.

LIVE UPDATES: Ukraine says 57 people killed during Russian invasion

But she says hostage-taking could hamper efforts to maintain the nuclear facility and is "incredibly alarming and greatly concerning".

Ms Psaki spoke after Alyona Shevtsova, an adviser to the commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, wrote on Facebook that the staff at the Chernobyl plant had been "taken hostage" when Russian troops seized the facility.

Earlier, a presidential adviser said Ukraine had lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site, where Ukranian forces had waged a fierce battle with Russian troops.

Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press that Ukrainian authorities did not know the current condition of the facilities at Chernobyl.

“After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe,” he said.

READ MORE: Dozens of deaths reported as Russia attacks Ukraine

The State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management spokesperson, Yevgeniya Kuznetsovа, told CNN there was no one there to defend the facility.

"When I came to the office today in the morning [in Kyiv], it turned out, that the [Chernobyl nuclear power plant] management had left. So there was no one to give instructions or defend," she said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced several hours earlier on Thursday that Russian forces were trying to seize the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

A nuclear reactor at the plant 130 kilometres north of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, exploded in April 1986, spewing radioactive waste across Europe.

LIVE UPDATES: Russia-Ukraine crisis

The exploded reactor was covered by a protective shelter several years ago to prevent radiation leaks.

A Ukrainian official said Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository and an increase in radiation levels was reported.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

READ MORE: World expresses outrage, plans stronger Russia sanctions

Other governments did not immediately corroborate or confirm the claims.

The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed that its ground forces have moved into Ukraine from Crimea, the first confirmation from Moscow that its ground forces have moved in.

Russia previously said only that it unleashed air and missile strikes on Ukrainian air bases, air defence batteries and other military facilities.

The ministry said it has destroyed 83 Ukrainian military facilities.

For the first time since the start of the action, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed the Russian ground troops had rolled into Ukraine, saying they advanced toward the city of Kherson, northwest of Crimea.

READ MORE: Australia calls out China's lack of condemnation