The government had expected consumer price inflation to be about 30% in 2022 after the initial economic blow from Russia's invasion, which disrupted supply chains and logistics, but it started to slow in the last few months of 2022.

The statistics service said in a statement that monthly consumer price inflation in December was flat at 0.7%.

The central bank said in its latest macroeconomic note that inflation had been kept under control because of a government decision to keep utility tariffs unchanged during the war and because of an improved supply of food products.

Consumer price inflation stood at 10% in 2021.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by Timothy Heritage)