Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that his country is promoting peace both in the South Caucasus and throughout Eurasia.

According to the Ministry of Health, the Chechen Republic ranked first among Russian regions for the lowest smoking prevalence. As of May 2026, the smoking rate in the region was only 0.53%.

A group of activists held a protest in Vienna outside the Kazakh embassy in support of Chechen refugee Mansur Movlaev. They urged Kazakh authorities not to extradite the young man to Russia.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in a video address that the heads of three opposition forces – pro-Russian billionaires Samvel Karapetyan and Gagik Tsarukyan – as well as former President Robert Kocharyan, "will be broken."

A decision on whether to extradite mathematician and blogger Mikhail Verbitsky, detained in Yerevan, to Russian authorities will be made soon. He is expected to be released soon, according to Artur Sakunts, head of the Yerevan-based human rights organization Helsinki Citizens' Assembly - Vanadzor.

In the Chegem district of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, a local court fined Alibek S., serving a sentence in Correctional Colony No. 1 in the village of Kamenka. The charge was based on a charge of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces, under an article of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Azerbaijani opposition activist Gulu Mehmedli harshly criticized the country's current leadership. He emphasized the rising incidence of cancer and the dire socioeconomic situation.

In France, six Georgian citizens received prison sentences ranging from 18 months to seven years on charges of stealing rare books by Russian writers from European libraries.