RUSSIA WITHOUT AIRCRAFT CARRIERS?

Deputy head of the Russian state committee for defense industries Gennady Voronin warned yesterday that Russia could enter the twenty-first century without a single aircraft carrier in service. At present, Russia has only one heavy aircraft carrier, the "Fleet Admiral Kuznetsov." Other such vessels have either been sold for scrap or been put up for sale. Voronin said Russia had not begun construction of a single ship or strategic submarine for the past five years. (4) Russia’s budget crunch and the earlier Soviet failure to develop an appropriate infrastructure has hindered the navy in its efforts to maintain even those vessels still in service.

Ukrainian Currency Delayed Again.