The central bank said it was ready to raise the interest rate in future to 8.5 percent and to keep it at this level until the second quarter of 2022.

AIIB said that the loan would be co-financed with the  Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the lead co-financier.

The reality is none of the three countries are formal candidates for EU membership in the near future.

The skirmishes have stirred concern about the stability of a late 2020 Moscow-negotiated armistice.

National Bank of Ukraine Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko said oligarchs have a "destructive" influence over the county's central bank.