Ukraine's economy shrinks 10pc

Ukraine's war-torn economy shrank by nearly 10 percent in 2015, but the downturn was still less severe than the government had feared, official data showed Monday.

The gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 9.9 percent in 2015, according to final adjusted figures from the state statistics services, compared with a 10.4 percent contraction predicted by the Ukrainian government at the end of last year and a near-seven percent drop in 2014.

The east European nation of slightly over 40 million has been riven by a 23-month separatist conflict that has claimed the lives of nearly 9,200 people and effectively paralysed its industrial heartland.

A nearly two-month-long political crisis that saw the prime minister survive a no confidence vote and Ukraine's stalled fight against corruption have delayed the disbursement of crucial IMF aid.

Ukraine has further been hurt by a trade war with Russia and a drop in the global price of its wheat and metals exports.

But Ukraine's central bank still expects the economy to expand by 1.1 percent this year.