Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has received Vladimir Putin's support ahead of the region's latest election. During a meeting in the Kremlin the previous evening, the Russian president praised the republic's successes under the current leader's leadership and expressed confidence that the people of Chechnya will once again place their trust in him in the September 20 elections.

The 2026 World Press Freedom Index, published this morning by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), records the worst deterioration in global media freedom in 25 years. More than half of the world's countries rank the situation as "challenging" or "very challenging," and the average index level has never been lower. A key trend is increasing legal pressure on the media: of the five indicators used to assess press freedom worldwide (economy, law, security, politics, culture, and society), the "law" indicator showed the most significant decline.

Elman Abdullaev, a veteran of the Ukrainian conflict and a native of North Ossetia, failed to obtain a review of his sentence in a fraud case. Following a ruling by a court in Vladikavkaz, the Southern District Military Court upheld his two-year prison sentence on charges of bribery.

Georgia and Armenia will host the 2029 FIFA U-20 World Cup. The national football associations of both countries confirmed this information, which was received at the FIFA Council in Vancouver on April 28.

The Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Ali Karimli expressed strong protest on the occasion of the 61st birthday of the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), which the politician is celebrating in the pretrial detention facility of the State Security Service. The human rights activists accused the authorities of exerting pressure on Karimli for years, including the revocation of his passport and periodic arrests.

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, stated that Georgia's territorial integrity is inviolable and will not be subject to negotiation for EU membership. He criticized the "Ukrainian and Moldovan-style" approaches to European integration, calling them alien to Georgia.

The Chechen opposition movement NIYSO announced the arrest and subsequent deployment to Ukraine of three young men from the village of Tangi-chu in the Urus-Martan district of the Chechen Republic. Fellow villagers reportedly asked for prayers for them.

Serbia revoked the citizenship of Yakub Zakriev, the nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, shortly after his extradition. He was initially granted citizenship as a foreigner of interest to Serbia. However, following media reports and a review of the decision, Serbian authorities revoked his passport.

The Tagansky Court of Moscow acquitted Pavel Gubarev, the former "people's governor" of the Donetsk region, of "discrediting the army." The decision was based on the lack of evidence of a violation.

Ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, Armenia is issuing stern warnings against interfering in the electoral process. Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan stated that law enforcement agencies are ready to take action against bribery, recalling the prison terms for receiving (up to 7 years) and giving (up to 8 years) bribes.