In the first six months of 2026, 18,103 children were born in Dagestan—an average of almost 100 newborns daily, according to Muminat Kharkharova, chief specialist for reproductive health at the republic's Ministry of Health.

Today marks 18 years since the start of the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia, known as the Five-Day War. It was on this day that Russia invaded Georgian territory, marking the beginning of hostilities between the two countries.

In Ingushetia, war veterans returning from Ukraine are increasingly seeking psychological help. The regional branch of the "Defenders of the Fatherland" foundation reported that the most common complaints include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emotional tension, and sleep disturbances.

Lawyers representing Zarema Musayeva have once again asked a court in Russia’s Chechen Republic to grant her parole, arguing that she became eligible for early release while being held in pretrial detention, according to the human rights organization Team Against Torture.

Defense lawyer Alexander Savin submitted the request to the Shali City Court.

“While she was still in pretrial detention, she had already served the portion of her sentence required by law to apply for parole,” Savin said.

Chechnya’s election commission has officially registered Ramzan Kadyrov as a candidate in the republic’s upcoming gubernatorial election, paving the way for a bid to extend his nearly two-decade rule. In the previous two elections, Kadyrov received more than 97% of the vote, while none of his challengers secured even 1%.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov visited Kyiv for the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, holding talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. Defense cooperation, energy security and the further development of the strategic partnership between the two countries were at the center of the discussions.

Electricity has been fully restored across Georgia following a nationwide blackout on the evening of August 5 that left Tbilisi and other major cities without power. The outage occurred while the country’s electricity system was undergoing tests following two previous large-scale disruptions.
Georgia’s State Electrosystem (GSE) said power supplies had been fully restored nationwide.

Russia has intensified pressure on Armenia through a series of coordinated statements by senior officials, signaling growing political, economic and diplomatic tensions between the two allies.
The latest round of public criticism began with remarks by Alexei Fadeyev, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department. He accused the Armenian government of seeking to pressure Moscow instead of engaging in constructive dialogue.

The Russian government has authorized the production, import and sale of Euro 2, Euro 3 and Euro 4 gasoline until July 1, 2027, temporarily reversing environmental standards that had phased out older fuel grades. The move comes amid a nationwide fuel shortage that has hit Russia’s North Caucasus particularly hard, with motorists facing gasoline shortages, long queues at filling stations, purchase limits and sharp price increases throughout the summer.

Khalid Karaf, a resident of Nalchik who had spent months trying to determine the fate of his missing son, was summoned—along with his wife and daughter—to the FSB headquarters, where they were informed that the son had died. *Kavkazsky Uzel* (Caucasian Knot) reported this, citing the man himself and a source within a Circassian organization.