Russia cuts gas deliveries to Poland, as our news desk reports:
Poland says its gas deliveries from Russia's state-controlled monopoly Gazprom have been cut by 24 percent amid heightened tensions over Ukraine.
Polish gas utility PGNiG said it had observed an initial reduction in supplies on September 8. It said it was trying to find out why volumes were down.
There was no immediate comment from Gazprom.
Ukraine's gas transport monopoly, Ukrtransgaz, said Russia had started limiting gas supplies to Poland in order to disrupt supplies of gas in the opposite direction, from Poland to Ukraine.
Kyiv depends on the "reverse flows" for its gas, as Gazprom has already halted supplies to Ukraine in a politically charged pricing dispute.
A senior Ukrtransgaz official, Ihor Prokopiv, said on September 10 that Poland had halted reverse flows to Ukraine.
Poland has been one of the staunchest supporters of the pro-Western government in Kyiv. (Reuters, AFP, and Interfax)
Russia's president tightens control of defense, slams NATO:
President Vladimir Putin on September 10 signed a decree taking direct charge of a committee that oversees Russia's defense sector.
Putin, addressing a meeting in Moscow on weapons modernization plans, said Russia has no intention to launch a new arms race, but will respond to all security challenges.
He accused NATO of using rhetoric over the conflict in Ukraine to "resuscitate itself."
Putin said Russia will focus on developing new strategic nuclear weapons, aerospace defenses, and high-precision conventional weapons.
Moscow is trying to reduce reliance on Western equipment following sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
Putin said potential threats to Russia's security must be thoroughly analyzed, and an "adequate response" given to each of them.
The Russian president also said a draft of Russia's new military doctrine should be drawn up by December. (Reuters, AFP, and Interfax)
Ukraine's president has been invited to speak before Congress:
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (Republican-Ohio) has invited Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to address a joint session of Congress on September 18.
The address is generally viewed as the highest honor that the U.S. Congress can give to a foreign leader.
Boehner said in a statement, "Having President Poroshenko address Congress is another signal of our steadfast commitment to the aspirations of his people."
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey) and Ranking Member Bob Corker (Republican-Tennessee) had sent a letter to Boehner asking him to invite Poroshenko.
The Ukrainian president is scheduled to visit the White House the same day.
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko addressed Congress in a joint meeting in 2005.