KYIV, Dec 9 - Ukraine's central bank raised its main interest rate to 9% from 8.5% on Thursday and stood ready to tighten monetary policy again as it warned about the risk of a military conflict with Russia and higher global food and gas prices, Reuters reported.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) began tightening monetary policy in March after cutting rates to an historic low last year to support an economy reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.