Aziz Orujov, head of the Azerbaijani online television channel Kanal-13, was released after two years in prison on charges of illegal construction. Orujov, who denies his guilt, has been recognized by human rights activists as a political prisoner.

For the first time since December 2024, Ukrainian drones attacked the Chechen Republic. Explosions and a fire were recorded in Grozny at a military camp where the Akhmat-Sever Russian National Guard regiment is based.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan intends to personally run in the 2026 parliamentary elections, heading the list of the ruling Civil Contract party. He announced this on his Telegram page.

OMON officers, along with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, arrived at a mosque in Elektrostal. They began checking the documents of those present.

The defense of Dagestani preacher Akhmad Batlukhsky has filed a complaint with the Investigative Committee of Dagestan alleging falsification of evidence in his criminal case. 

In Crimea, 74-year-old Crimean Tatar historian Enver Seitmemetov has been charged with equating the actions of the USSR with those of Nazi Germany. About ten security officers came to his home in Bakhchisaray and took him to the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Center "E" in Simferopol.

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has discovered assets worth 190 million rubles belonging to Magomed Kushtov, the former head of the Federal Tax Service for Ingushetia, and his brother, Ilyas, who holds the position of deputy head of a department in the same tax service. The property was registered to relatives and trusted individuals. The assets include expensive real estate in Moscow, North Ossetia, and Ingushetia, as well as a fleet of luxury cars.

Regions in the North Caucasus are among the top five Russian regions for utility rate increases in 2026.

Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, ranked third in the Russian city quality of life ranking compiled by the Financial University under the Government. Moscow and Sevastopol ranked first.

German Ambassador to Georgia Peter Fischer commented on the European Commission's enlargement report in an interview with Radio Free Europe's Georgian Service and urged Georgians to read it.