Inflation tops 60 percent in conflict-hit Ukraine

Annual inflation in strife-torn Ukraine soared to some 61 percent in April, the state statistics agency said Wednesday, as the conflict in the east of the country continued to roil the stricken economy The year-on-year figure rose from some 53.7 percent in March as the ex-Soviet nation counts the cost of more than a year of bitter fighting with pro-Russian rebels that has ravaged its industrial heartland. Leading the way was an 88 percent hike in utility prices and an increase of some 46 percent in the cost of medical services.