* Ukrainian Economics and Trade Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Ukraine would raise the rent for the Russian Black Sea Fleet's Sebastopol base in response to Russia's decision to quadruple the price of its natural gas exports.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed sending a 200-strong contingent into Sudan in response to the UN Secretary General's request that Russia contribute troops to the United Nation's peacekeeping operation in that troubled African country.
* Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the Bulava ballistic missile had successfully completed its test launch Wednesday by hitting a dummy target at a site on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia's Far East.
* A Russian Greenpeace official said the Eastern Siberia-Pacific oil pipeline must be rerouted to prevent environmental damage to Lake Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake and a World Heritage Site.
* Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin said he was not happy with Russia's decision to double its natural gas price for Moldova, but assured his country would be able to cope.
