Main news of January 19

RUSSIA

* Russia's top military commander said that the country is prepared to use its nuclear weapons to defend itself and allies in the event of a severe external threat

* The defense ministers of Russia and Belarus signed an agreement to set up a communications system between regional groupings of the countries' Armed Forces

* Russia's Air Force commander warned that if Russia does not radically improve its aerospace defense, the entire country will be left vulnerable to attack by 2020

* Police in southeast Moscow have discovered around 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of explosives stashed in a deserted building, a police spokesman said 

* Russian Orthodox believers including clergymen defied the winter cold in Moscow and took a dip in the Moskva River to celebrate Epiphany 

WORLD

* A decision on whether Ukraine should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will only be taken through a referendum, the country's prime minister said

* A suspect in the 2002 murder of a former governor of Russia's Far East region of Magadan arrived in Moscow after being extradited by Spain, the Russian prison service said

* A Ukrainian ship carrying grain sank in the Azov Sea after being damaged by sea ice, the country's emergencies ministry said

* Israeli troops killed two Hamas fighters in a clash in the Gaza Strip, local radio reported