This just in from AFP:
Russia still has hundreds of troops in Ukraine despite a "significant" force withdrawal made since Kiev and pro-Russian rebels agreed a cease-fire earlier this month, NATO said Tuesday.
After the pullback, "hundreds of Russian troops, including special forces, still remain inside Ukraine," NATO spokesman Jay Janzen said, adding that no further reduction had been seen in the past week and that some 20,000 soldiers were still deployed near the Ukrainian border.
More by our News Desk on the decision by Moscow not to participate in the FLEX program:
Russia has canceled its participation in a respected program that sends high school students from former Soviet republics to study in the United States -- a move that comes amid Western sanctions against Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis.
The U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Tefft, says Russia informed Washington on September 30 that it will not participate in next year's Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program.
Tefft said: "We deeply regret this decision by the Russian government to end a program that for 21 years has built deep and strong connections between the people of Russia and the United States."
Under the program, more than 8,000 Russian high school students have lived with American familes and attended U.S. high schools.
More than 20,000 students have taken part in the program, which also involves Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazkahstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.
From our News Desk:
EU Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner-designate Johannes Hahn says Serbia needs to carefully consider its refusal to support EU sanctions against Russia if Belgrade hopes to join the European Union.
Hahn told the European Parliament on Tuesday that if Belgrade "is moving towards accession, the signal" on sanctions against Russia "will have to be the right one."
Russia announced a criminal case against Ukraine's political and military leadership on September 29, for what it called "genocide" against Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. Spokesman Vladimir Markin said orders had been given to annihilate the Russian-speaking population. Ukraine and Western countries accuse Russia of stoking separatism in eastern Ukraine and deploying troops and equipment there. (Video by Reuters)
