Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk says that the situation in Ukraine's banking system is in an extremely difficult condition against the backdrop of hostilities in the east of the country.

"The economy suffers most of all from the war. The figures that are available now signal one thing: there is a real decline in industrial production, GDP is falling, the national currency has been weakening, and the reserves are shrinking… The banking system, being a key element of any state's economy, is also in a desperate plight," he said at a government meeting on Tuesday.