Russia's central bank kept borrowing costs at a two-decade high of 21 percent on Friday to combat rampant inflation, despite banks and businesses warning the economy was headed for a slowdown.

Prices have been rising quickly across the Russian economy for months, driven up by massive government spending on the Ukraine conflict and deep labour shortages.

Eye-watering lending rates have meanwhile hit businesses hard, with some of the country's top corporate leaders putting pressure on the central bank to relax rates.

In a statement announcing the........

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