The election of Viktor Yanukovich as president of Ukraine is starting to pay big time benefits to Russia. In a bit of horse trading to secure lower prices for Russian gas deliveries, Yanukovich has agreed to allow the Russian Black Sea fleet to remain anchored at Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Sevastopol until 2042, tacking on a 25-year extension to a lease that was due to expire in 2017. Yanukovych made the deal with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the eastern city of Kharkiv on April 22. Brimming with glee over the deal, Medvedev said it would bring better European security to the Black Sea basin.
