RUSSIA’S AGING AIR FORCE.

The Russian Air Force did not have the money to buy a single new combat aircraft in 1996, according to an unnamed official at the service’s headquarters. This marks the second year in a row that no new jets were received. The source said that the number of tactical aircraft was expected to drop to 1,670 by the end of the year and could fall as low as 1,330 by 2005. (Interfax, January 7)

Moldova’s New President Wants Ukrainian Peacekeepers in Transdniester.