The ongoing conflict with pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine saw one civilian killed on Friday, after a major coke plant owned by Ukrainian steel company Metinvest was shelled. Plus, the military in Kiev reported that three Ukrainian servicemen had been killed and 12 wounded in the past 24 hours, according to Reuters.  Moscow continues to deny that it is backing the separatists in eastern Ukraine. However, two Russian men captured by Ukrainian forces told Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta on Friday that they were in the country on Moscow's orders, according to Reuters.  Read MoreIs Finland really getting ready for war with Russia?  Meanwhile, Ukraine has also been hit by the collapse in oil prices and international sanctions on Russia, which remains its major trading partner.  In addition, Ukraine is beset by hyperinflation, with prices seen rising by 33.5 percent across 2015 by the IMF.  The country's internal political situation also remains fragile following the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. Political risk consultancy Teneo Intelligence rates Ukraine as "high risk" among emerging markets for instability over the coming 12 months.  "Three countries—Venezuela, Ukraine and Yemen—are characterized as high risk due primarily to existing or potential social and military conflict," said Teneo Managing Director Wolfango Piccoli in a note on Thursday.  "The government in Kiev will likely remain cohesive in the near future because the conflict in eastern Ukraine discourages political in-fighting. However, splinter groups from individual parties have started to appear, which may challenge government stability in the first half of 2016," he added.
Ukraine may have dropped out of the headlines but its economic troubles are worsening as it continues to battle with separatists—and bondholders.