Russia has stepped up covert operations aimed at undermining the Armenian leadership's re-election plans. Moscow has expressed concern about Armenia's growing ties with the West, Reuters reports, citing Western intelligence and confidential documents.

The Nalchik Garrison Military Court sentenced Askhad Zambatov to five years in prison. He was found guilty of evading military service.

The Moscow City Court upheld the arrest of Alina Dzhikayeva, editor-in-chief of Sapa Media, accused of bribing a police officer.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed a military parade in Yerevan marking Republic Day and declared that "peace has been established" after nearly 35 years of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Pashinyan's speech served as both a manifesto for a new Armenian military doctrine and an attempt to explain the kind of Armenia the authorities want to see after the Karabakh crisis.

Servet Gaziyev, a 66-year-old Crimean Tatar political prisoner, was hospitalized in the medical unit located at Penal Colony No. 5 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. His condition worsened due to a critical spike in blood pressure.

US President Donald Trump pledged his unconditional support for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Transparency International Georgia has published a legal analysis of the criminal case against eight Georgian opposition leaders and concluded that this trial could become one of the most difficult and symbolic episodes in the country's recent political history.

Pro-war Telegram channels are increasingly warning of the growing threat posed not only by UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) but also by balloons carrying them. Similar technologies have recently been observed in several Russian regions, including North Ossetia, the Krasnodar Krai, the Rostov Oblast, and Crimea.

Azerbaijan officially celebrates Republic Day on May 28 every year. Since October 15, 2021, this date has been known as "Independence Day."

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that he and Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the possibility of "resetting" relations between Tbilisi and Kyiv, which have noticeably deteriorated since the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine. The conversation between the two politicians took place on May 4 in Yerevan on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit.