Georgia's Human Rights Commissioner, Levan Ioseliani, stated that he could easily become a "star" of one or more opposition political forces or NGOs, in which case he would repeat or amplify their assessments, but that this is not the Public Defender's role. He emphasized that his position does not entail defending any specific group or disseminating its narratives.

Human rights activists in Kabardino-Balkaria have expressed concerns about the possibility of schoolchildren being forced to abandon the study of their native languages. These concerns arose after the Ministry of Education refused to provide data on the number of Kabardian and Balkar students who chose Russian as their native language.

New Year's trees and winter bouquets are the cheapest in the North Caucasus. According to research, the average Christmas tree bill in the North Caucasus Federal District is 3,300 rubles, significantly lower than in other federal districts, especially compared to the Far Eastern Federal District, where the average price reaches 7,000 rubles.

By January 1, 2026, Turkey plans to open its border with Armenia to citizens of other countries and holders of diplomatic passports, but has put forward a number of conditions and proposals. This was reported by the Armenian newspaper Hraparak.

Islamic blogger Mansur Gneev has been returned to pretrial detention after the Krasnodar Regional Court overturned his house arrest. This was reported by his wife. According to her, security forces returned some of the confiscated items after the search, but the money and religious paraphernalia remain in their possession.

On the night of December 27, Adygea suffered a drone attack. There has been no immediate information from local authorities regarding the consequences.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that Moscow's letter terminating the criminal investigation into the AZAL plane crash was "gravely surprising." The letter was sent by Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee.

Министр иностранных дел Азербайджана Джейхун Байрамов сообщил, что деятельность организации «Русский дом» в стране была прекращена в связи с нарушением установленных законодательных норм, включая отсутствие необходимой регистрации.

In Kabardino-Balkaria, a court sentenced Zamir Begiyev to five years in prison. He was found guilty of leaving his military unit without leave during mobilization.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) detained an 18-year-old woman in Stavropol on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack against a Defense Ministry officer. According to the FSB, the woman, acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence agencies, obtained a homemade explosive device equivalent to 400 grams of TNT and planned to plant it on a vehicle near a military base.