* Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Russian government agreed with the banking community that the activities of foreign banks' branches in the country should be banned
* Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said the country was ready to raise tariffs on the transportation of Russian natural gas via its territory in 2006
* Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Russian banking system needed modernization, and criticized some state banks for working poorly
* Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Russia had not yet received a demand from Ukraine for higher lease rates for the Black Sea Fleet base in the Crimea
* The Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, passed the 2006 budget and approved legislative amendments to lift the "ring fence" from around common shares in Gazprom, which will end restrictions on foreign ownership
* The Ukrainian Health Ministry said the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, which is potentially lethal for humans, had been found in 11 settlements in Ukraine
* Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Russian GDP would grow 5.8% in 2006 and inflation would drop to 8.5% from this year's approximate figure of 11-11.5%, and the 2005 federal budget surplus would amount to 7-8% of GDP
* The Russian Foreign Ministry said the 12 Russian sailors arrested in Nigeria in October 2003 for alleged oil smuggling had been released and would return home soon
* Chechen deputies proposed Wednesday renaming Grozny, Chechnya's capital, to Akhmad-Kala to commemorate Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, who was killed in a terrorist attack in May 2004
