Fears of a Russian military invasion of Ukraine are rattling the crude oil market. This Monday oil prices rose by more than two dollars to just above $96 a barrel. International media are saying that Russian forces may begin an invasion as early as tomorrow, February 16.

Russia is one of the world's largest producers of oil and gas, and fears that it could invade Ukraine have led the oil price increase to approach $100 per barrel, the highest level since 2014.

Brent crude oil increased $2.04, or 2.2%, and settled at $96.48 per barrel, after reaching its highest in September 2014 when it settled at $96.78.

"The market remains very sensitive to developments on the Russia/Ukraine situation," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.36, or 2.5%, to settle at $95.46 per barrel, after hitting $95.82, the highest since September 2014.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukrainians to fly the country's flags from buildings and sing the national anthem in unison on February 16.

According to Ukrainian officials, Zelenskiy was not predicting an attack on that date, but was responding with skepticism to foreign media reports. Western media say that by that date Russian forces would be ready for an attack.

The United States sees no "tangible sign" of a reduction of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States was moving its embassy operations in Ukraine from the capital Kiev to the western city of Lviv (Leopolis or Lemberga, near the Polish border.

Russia has amassed thousands of troops near Ukraine's borders, but Moscow denies its invasion plans and has accused the West of hysteria. The United States warned on Sunday that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time and could create a surprise pretext for an attack.

Russia is one of the largest producers of crude oil, with a capacity of about 11.2 million barrels per day, said Nishant Bhushan, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy.

"Any disruption to the region's oil flows would cause Brent and WTI prices to soar well above $100 in a market struggling to meet the increased demand for crude as economies recover from the pandemic," Bhushan said.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have been struggling to meet promises to increase production by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) by March.