Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu expressed concern about US plans to build modular nuclear reactors in Armenia. He believes the project will create new nuclear security threats for the entire region.

An Azerbaijani delegation has arrived in Armenia for the second time in four months. According to Armenian media, civil society activists participating in the Peace Bridge initiative crossed the land border along a demarcated and delimited section near the village of Kirants in Tavush.

Azerbaijani citizen Ramin Mamedov died during military operations in Ukraine while fighting on the Russian side. His body was returned to his homeland.

A Simferopol court has ordered the pretrial detention of 42-year-old Crimean Tatar Nariman Seytaliev. His arrest followed a search of his home in the village of Glubokiy Yar in the Bakhchisaray district. Seytaliev is charged with organizing the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an organization banned in Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented on Yerevan's decision to cooperate with the United States in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. According to her, the Armenian side has the right to independently choose its foreign policy and economic partners, but the choice itself raises certain questions.

The State Security Service (SSS) of Azerbaijan has presented new details in the case of an alleged coup attempt involving former head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev, former Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov, and the leader of the opposition Popular Front Party (PFPA) Ali Karimli. According to the agency, they, with the assistance of foreign intelligence agencies, were preparing a violent seizure of power.

Adam Kadyrov, the youngest son of the head of Chechnya, suffered serious consequences in a car accident in Grozny on January 16. According to Novaya Gazeta Evropa, his spleen was removed in a Moscow hospital, and he was diagnosed with a fractured jaw and optic nerve damage. The newspaper notes that there is a risk of losing the sight in one eye.

A farmer in Chechnya has managed to raise the largest bull in the North Caucasus and the world. Grozny-Inform reported this, specifying that the animal weighs nearly 1.9 tons.

Human Rights Watch reports an increase in cases of in absentia convictions in Azerbaijan. HRW Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia, Giorgi Gogia, stated that Baku is intensifying its campaign of "cross-border repression."

US Vice President J.D. Vance's visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan signals two important changes: the diminishing significance of Moscow's declared spheres of influence and the weakening of Russia's position in the South Caucasus, writes the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). The center emphasizes that, despite the Trump administration's desire to improve relations with Russia, the United States is confirming its intention to play an active role in the region, which the Kremlin considers its "near abroad."