Investors' wealth tumbled by more than Rs 8 lakh crore in less than an hour of trade on Thursday, as Russia's attack on Ukraine pushed stock markets deep into the red.

Amid investors getting spooked by the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies crashed to Rs 2,47,46,960.48 crore at around 10.15 am.

At the close of trade on Wednesday, the market capitalisation, an indicator of the notional wealth of investors, was at Rs 2,55,68,668.33 crore. This reflects a wealth erosion of more than Rs 8.2 lakh crore.

Domestic equity gauges Sensex and Nifty crashed over 3 per cent in early morning deals on Thursday following massive selloffs in global share markets after Russia announced military operation in Ukraine.

The BSE Sensex tanked 1,718.99 points or 3 per cent to 55,513.07; and the Nifty plunged 508.85 points or 2.98 per cent to 16,554.40.

All Sensex constituents were trading with hefty losses, with Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra and and SBI suffering the most dropping as much as 8 per cent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine. In a televised address, Putin said the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian "regime". Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to consequences they have never seen.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has warned that the world will hold Russia accountable for the death and destruction due to the "unprovoked" and "unjustified" attack on Ukraine and the US and its allies will respond in a "united and decisive" way.