An accident aboard a Russian nuclear attack submarine that killed at least 20 and injured 22 late Saturday, is the latest in a series of undersea tragedies that have struck the Russian Navy as it struggles to regain Soviet-era capacities.

Russian leaders have decided essentially to put U.S. relations on hold until President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January, signaling the end to Bush administration proposals on missile defense and strategic arms control.

In a wide-ranging attack on the United States as it elected a new president, the Russian leader Dmitri A. Medvedev warned that Moscow might deploy short-range missiles in the Baltic region to counter a perceived threat from a proposed American missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. The U.S. has stated that the missile defense system is needed to intercept missiles from states including Iran and does not threaten Russia.

Unless the Senate acts soon, the United States could lose its access to the International Space Station. The country is in a bind because NASA plans to retire the aging space shuttle fleet two years from now. Without a Congressional waiver, the agency will be barred from buying seats on Russia’s space vehicles.

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama has asked his party's congressional leadership to extend NASA's authority to buy seats on the Russian Soyuz vehicle, while holding open the possibility of flying the space shuttle beyond its planned 2010 retirement date.

The distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks that hit Georgian government and news websites have U.S. military officials concerned that bands of independent "cyber militias" will increasingly wield power over international relations.

Russia appears focused on strengthening its nuclear capabilities rather than building up its regular armed forces, which makes maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal increasingly important, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday.

Russia's Foreign Minister told national leaders attending the General Assembly today that it is time to establish a global agreement outlawing the deployment of weapons in space, warning they endanger the existence of all States.

The days of their cold war may have passed, but Russia and the United States are in the midst of another battle -- this one a technological fight over the United States monopoly on satellite navigation.

Just over a month after a Chinese satellite was intentionally smashed into bits in a test of anti-satellite technology, a Russian rocket body exploded accidentally, littering the skies with more than 1000 additional pieces of space junk. The amount of space debris created is roughly on par with that released during China's test, which was considered the worst space debris event in the history of space launches. And experts say the debris is likely to stay in orbit for a long time, creating a danger to other spacecraft.