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14 Stories

September 2008
- Resurgent Russia Vows to Beef Up Military
  
  New York Times | Sep 27, 08 6:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Russia signed a $1 billion military loan deal with Venezuela yesterday while pledging to upgrade its own military, the New York Times reports. The country plans to ratchet its defense budget back up to Cold War levels next year and intends to have new warships built by 2020. President Dmitry Medvedev said the Georgia conflict exposed serious weaknesses, and he vowed to return Russia to a state of permanent combat readiness. More »
  
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  Russia • Georgia • Vladimir Putin • Venezuela • Hugo Chavez • Dmitry Medvedev • Russian military
August 2008
- Russia Will Absorb South Ossetia 'in Several Years'
  
  Associated Press | Aug 29, 08 10:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Russia intends to absorb Georgia’s breakaway province of South Ossetia “in several years” or perhaps sooner, the speaker of the region’s parliament tells AP. In meetings this week in Moscow between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and South Ossetian leader, Eduard Kokoity, the intent was “firmly stated by both leaders,” the speaker added. More »
  
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  Russia • Georgia • Dmitry Medvedev • diplomacy • South Ossetia • Abkhazia • Russian military • international relations
- US Aid Ship Arrives in Georgia
  
  Associated Press | Aug 24, 08 12:57 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - A US Navy warship carrying humanitarian aid anchored at the Georgian port of Batumi today, sending a strong signal of support to an embattled ally as Russian forces built up around two separatist regions. But a top Russian general suggested that the presence of US and other NATO ships in the Black Sea would worsen tensions already at a post-Cold War low. More »
  
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  Russia • Georgia • NATO • South Ossetia • US Navy • Abkhazia • Russian military • humanitarian aid • warship • Georgians
- West Worries as Russia Digs In
  
  New York Times | Aug 19, 08 4:17 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Russian forces appear to be hunkering down rather than beginning their promised withdrawal from Georgian territory, the New York Time s reports. Troops are digging in along the highway to Tbilisi and military vehicles are moving in both directions, alarming the West, according to Reuters. Pentagon officials say they have seen no significant Russian movement out of Georgia. More »
  
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  Russia • Georgia • Dmitry Medvedev • South Ossetia • Russian military • Tbilisi • Gori
- Russia Pledges to Start Georgia Pullout Tomorrow
  
  BBC | Aug 17, 08 8:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Dimitry Medvedev said today he'll start pulling troops out of Georgia tomorrow, but has no plans to withdraw from the separatist stronghold of South Ossetia, the BBC reports. The Russian president made the pledge after a phone conversation with Nicolas Sarkozy, who had brokered a ceasefire Friday. Despite signing the agreement, Russia has continued to control a wide swath of Georgia, including the city of Gori and the main highway through the western part of the country, the AP reports, and today confirmed that it had taken over a major power plant. More »
  
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  Russia • Nicolas Sarkozy • Georgia • Condoleezza Rice • ceasefire • Russian military • peace deal
- Bush Sends Aid, Rice to Georgia
  
  New York Times | Aug 13, 08 2:53 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Bush announced that the US would send humanitarian aid into Georgia today as hostilities threatened to overwhelm the fragile peace agreement, the New York Times reports. In announcing that he was dispatching Condoleezza Rice to mediate the dispute, Bush said that the US “stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia and insists that its sovereignty and territorial integrity be respected.” More »
  
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  Russia • Georgia • war • Mikhail Saakashvili • Russian military • invasion • Gori • tanks
- Thousands Flee as Russia Attacks Central Georgia
  
  Times (UK) | Aug 11, 08 4:55 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Thousands of Georgians are fleeing the central city of Gori as the Russian army continues to wage major attacks beyond South Ossetia, reports the Times of London. Russia launched a massive aerial bombardment of Gori amid reports that it was on the verge of a ground invasion. The move from South Ossetian territory into Georgia proper is a chilling sign that Russia is going well beyond its stated intention to secure the breakaway province, and seeks to punish Georgia. More »
  
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  Russia • Georgia • Vladimir Putin • Dick Cheney • South Ossetia • Abkhazia • Russian military • Mikheil Saakashvili • Tbilisi
March 2008
- Bush, Putin to Lock Antlers on Missile Defense
  
  Washington Post | Mar 26, 08 6:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Bush accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation today to continue the two nations' often strained talks over a proposed US missile defense system in central Europe. The two heads of state will meet April 6 in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, the Washington Post reports, for likely the last time before Putin changes jobs May 7. More »
  
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  George W. Bush • China • Russia • US military • United States • Vladimir Putin • Europe • Hu Jintao • missile defense system • Russian military
- NATO Escorts Russian Bombers Away From Alaska
  
  Reuters | Mar 26, 08 4:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two bombers from the Russian air force flew uncomfortably close to American territory as they patrolled neutral space off the coast of Alaska, Reuters reports. NATO forces deployed several jets to escort the Russian planes away. The incident is yet another case of the Russian military resuming the Soviet-era practice of flying patrols beyond its borders. More »
  
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  Russia • Alaska • NATO • Russian military
October 2007
- Russian "Father of All Bombs" May Be Hoax
  
  Wired | Oct 4, 07 5:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Several weeks after Russia boasted of successfully testing the world's most powerful non-nuclear bomb, US experts and officials are beginning to voice doubts. Careful analysis of video footage of the device reveal inconsistencies, particularly about just what kind of bomb it was, Wired reports. "You've got to approach Russian claims with skepticism," one analyst says. More »
  
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  bomb • Russian military • military strategy
- Russia Vows to Launch Arms Race in Space
  
  Reuters | Oct 3, 07 4:28 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Today Russia promised an arms race with the US and China if they keep launching military hardware into orbit. "We need to have strong rules about space, to avoid its militarization," General Vladimir Popovkin said. Reuters reports that his barb was aimed at Washington for its "Star Wars" program and Beijing for recent anti-satellite missile tests. More »
  
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  Russian military • Missile defense • Space arms race
September 2007
- British Jets Intercept 8 Russian 'Bears'
  
  Guardian (UK) | Sep 6, 07 3:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - British fighter jets intercepted eight Russian recon bombers today as they approached British airspace in the latest long-distance forays to display Vladimir Putin's renewed virility in air power. Authorities said the aircraft did not enter British airspace, the Guardian writes. Norwegian planes monitored the same eight bombers in international airspace north of Norway. More »
  
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  Russia • Cold War • Norway • Alexander Litvinenko • Russian military • aircraft • Royal Air Force • Britian • Bears
August 2007
- Putin Vows to Boost Production of Military Aircraft
  
  Guardian (UK) | Aug 22, 07 1:33 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Russian Premier Vladimir Putin has announced ambitious new plans to revive Russia's military aircraft production, which could include new nuclear bombers for "strategic deterrence," according to a US aide. Appearing at the largest air show in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, Putin vowed to make his nation the world's leading producer of military aircraft, reports the Guardian . More »
  
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  Russia • Vladimir Putin • NATO • Soviet Union • Czech Republic • Russian military • missile shield
- Russians Hot for Cold War Habit
  
  Reuters | Aug 9, 07 5:19 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Russia's air force has revived the Soviet-era practice of flying to areas policed by NATO and the US, Reuters reports. A Tu-95 bomber "exchanged smiles" today with American pilots who raced to track it as it flew over Guam. As during the Cold War, Russian officials called the incident a routine flexing of military muscle. More »
  
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  Russia • Vladimir Putin • NATO • Cold War • Russian military • Guam • Soviet