From our newsroom:
Ukraine's central bank has sharply raised the country's interest rate in an effort to stabilize the national currency and halt inflation.
National Bank chief Valeriya Hontareva said in Kyiv the benchmark interest rate would be increased from 19.5 percent to 30 percent as of March 4.
The move is aimed at stabilizing the value of the hryvnya, which has lost 80 percent of its value against the dollar since January 1.
Prices in January were 28.5 percent higher than in January 2014.
The Ukrainian economy -- forecast to contract by 5.5 percent in 2015 -- has suffered in the past year as government forces fight pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and trade with Russia has almost ceased.
The interest rate increase comes ahead of a decision by the IMF, expected on March 11, to release a $17.5 billion loan that Kyiv needs to avoid a default on its debts.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says via Facebook that "Russian terrorists" are not allowing Ukrainian rescue crews access to the scene of the deadly mine blast, where early reports suggested dozens of miners might be trapped underground.
Nadia Savchenko in a Moscow court today:
She is entering her 83rd day of hunger strike, long past when permanent organ damage is likely to have set in.
More detail on Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's accusation that pro-Russian forces are preventing rescue teams from getting to the scene of a mining tragedy in Donetsk. These remarks are from a cabinet meeting in Kyiv:
"Today early in the morning I gave instructions to the State Emergency Service and Energy Ministry to dispatch brigades of mine rescuers to provide assistance in pulling miners out from underground, in order to give them a chance to overcome the consequences of this accident and to save the lives of miners."
"Six brigades, each composed of ten people, have been dispatched, but Russian terrorists did not allow Ukrainian mine-rescue brigades to reach the site and to help pulling out people and saving their lives."
"That is why I am publicly calling on the Russian Federation -- order these rascals to allow our mine-rescue brigades to save the lives of miners."
From a Foreign Ministry communications official:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has reportedly issued another appeal to Moscow for the release of Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko, with Interfax saying he sent a letter to Vladimir Putin. Two days ago, he and the Spanish and Polish foreign ministers issued a similar call.
