The move comes amid outrage about the recent incident in which Minsk forced an EU-registered passenger plane to land in the country with the sole goal of arresting a 26-year old independent journalist.

State-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz appointed Svitlana Zalishchuk, a former journalist, to to head its international affairs team.

State-owned Ukreximbank will use the funds for loans to SMEs, in particular by offering sub-loans of a longer maturity than that currently available on the market.

The move comes as Minsk faces further isolation by the European Union after the incident involving a routine flyover of its airspace.