NORAD Commander Concerned By Russian Military Activity
The commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) says Russia's increased military activity is jeopardizing the security of the United States and Canada.
Admiral William Gortney told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a written statement on March 12 that Russia's continued development of long-range, conventionally armed cruise missiles provides Moscow with options for a deterrent "short of the nuclear threshold."
He said the long-range cruise missiles could be launched from submarines, warships, or aircraft.
Gortney added that if current "trends" continue, NORAD will face an "increased risk in our ability to defend" the United States and Canada against Russian cruise-missile threats.
Gortney said the past year has "marked a notable increase in Russian military assertiveness" around the world, with Russian planes flying outside the country's airspace more than in any year since the Cold War ended.
NORAD is a Canadian-American command, based in the state of Colorado, whose mission is to prevent air attacks against North America and to secure its airspace.
Based on reporting by CNN
Lawyer: Treason Case Against Russian Woman Dropped
A lawyer for a Russian woman who faced treason charges after reporting possible troop movements to the Ukrainian Embassy says the case against her has been closed.
Attorney Ivan Pavlov said on Facebook that "the criminal case against Svetlana Davydova has been closed" due to lack of evidence that she committed a crime.
He said that "all treason accusations have been dropped."
Relatives and officials said Davydova telephoned the Ukrainian Embassy in April and told them soldiers based near her home might be being sent to Ukraine, the site of a conflict between government forces and Russian-backed rebels.
Davydova was detained January 21 at the home she shares in the western city Vyazma with her husband and seven children, including an infant daughter.
After a public outcry, she was freed on February 3 but ordered to remain in Vyazma pending further investigation.
Based on reporting by Interfax and rapsinews.ru
An excerpt:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has disappeared. Well, not literally, but he hasn't been seen in public for a full week and reports about his schedule on the presidential website seem suspect. The Kremlin denies that he is ill, and the Russian blogosphere is abuzz with speculation.
It's still impossible for an outsider to tell where Putin is, or what he's up to. But it isn't too early to draw conclusions from this episode. It offers evidence enough that Russia has become an outright dictatorship. No other kind of state would be so opaque, nor its citizens so preoccupied with their ruler.
Kyiv Expects IMF Bailout Tranche On March 13, Will Start Debt Talks
Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko says Kyiv expects the first $5 billion tranche of a new four-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program to be disbursed on March 13.
Jaresko also announced talks would start on March 13 with Kyiv’s creditors on restructuring Ukraine's debt, saying a solution should be found within two months.
She did not specify which debt might be restructured.
She also said Kyiv would launch a privatization program for many of the country's 3,300 state-owned firms by the end of 2015.
The IMF on March 11 approved the $17.5-billion loan for Ukraine to stave off a debt default.
Jaresko said the first $5 billion tranche would enable Kyiv to “increase reserves."
She said the central bank would receive $2.2 billion to stabilize the national currency, the hryvnia, which has lost more than two-thirds of its value against the dollar during the past year amid the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the east.
She said the remaining $2.8 billion from the tranche would go to the government.