According to the international human rights organization Freedom House's "Freedom in the World 2026" report, authoritarian rule in Azerbaijan, centered around President Ilham Aliyev and his family, has continued to strengthen for two decades.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the issue of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as an internal problem for the country. He compared the current situation to moving to a new apartment, where threats are proclaimed instead of good neighborly relations, making life in the same environment unbearable.

Members of the US Senate and House of Representatives called on the US government to cooperate with its European partners to impose sanctions against the Georgian government. This statement followed the release of a critical OSCE report prepared under the Moscow Mechanism.

The 28th temporary plaque installed on the building where Anna Politkovskaya lived and was murdered was destroyed by unknown persons. Activists have placed a new plaque in its place—the 29th.

According to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, 28 Ukrainian drones were intercepted by air defense systems over the Stavropol Krai on the night of March 19. This incident is part of a larger attack, during which, according to the ministry, a total of 138 UAVs were shot down over various Russian regions, including Crimea, Krasnodar Krai, and Rostov Oblast.

Former Federation Council member Rauf Arashukov from the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, serving a life sentence in the Black Dolphin prison colony in Orenburg, expressed a desire to be transferred to a prison colony in Mordovia. The reason for this transfer is the fact that his father, Raul Arashukov, is also serving a life sentence there for stealing gas and organizing two murders.

The health of political prisoner Tofik Abdulgaziyev, who suffers from brain cancer, tuberculosis, and other serious illnesses, continues to deteriorate. His wife, Aliye Kurtametova, reported that his situation is "extremely critical" and recalled unsuccessful requests for assistance in similar cases.

A telephone conversation took place between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Iran, Jeyhun Bayramov and Seyyed Abbas Araghchi. Bayramov insisted that Tehran fulfill its promise to investigate the drone attacks launched from its territory on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

The Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don sentenced Timur Agrba, a resident of Abkhazia, to five and a half years in a general regime penal colony. He was accused of justifying terrorism for his Telegram channel posts, which, according to investigators, glorified Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev.

Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia, the spiritual leader who led the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1977, has passed away. News of his death at the age of 93 was announced on March 17 from the intensive care unit of the Caucasus Medical Center.