Russian-Georgian relations remain at a standstill, despite Moscow's formal statements of readiness to discuss contentious issues. Izvestia reports that the Russian Foreign Ministry believes that key disagreements between the two countries remain unresolved.

Local residents of Chechnya captured video of the explosion in Gudermes that occurred on the night of December 2. The likely target of the drone attack was the Gudermes District Police Department building.

The Russian tanker MIDVOLGA 2, heading to Georgia with a shipment of sunflower oil, was attacked off the coast of Turkey, the country's General Directorate of Maritime Affairs reported. This is the third time in the past four days that Russian vessels have been attacked by naval drones near the Turkish coast.

The FSB building in the Achkhoy-Martan district of Chechnya was damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack. There was no official comment, but the Ministry of Defense reported the downing of four UAVs over Chechen territory.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has published a report alleging that Georgian authorities used chemical weapons during the suppression of pro-European protests in Tbilisi in 2024. The chemical weapon in question is bromobenzyl cyanide, a chemical warfare agent dating back to World War I, also known as "kamit."

The political situation in Azerbaijan is deteriorating following the arrest of Ali Karimli, the leader of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). A Baku court ordered his pretrial detention for two and a half months on charges of attempting to violently seize power.

Following the downing of the Azerbaijan Airlines civilian jet, Baku expects Moscow to fulfill a number of key conditions to restore normal relations between the countries. This was stated by Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev in an interview with EU Today.

Ali Karimli, chairman of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, and his adviser, Mammad Ibrahim, have become suspects in the criminal case against former head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, Ramiz Mehdiyev, who is accused of attempting a coup d'état and treason.

In the Republic of Dagestan, an attack by Ukrainian drones shot down over Kaspiysk has been thwarted. This was announced by Sergey Melikov, the head of the republic, on his Telegram channel.

Discontent with the leadership of Catholicos Karekin II is growing within the Armenian Apostolic Church. Ten bishops and archbishops have publicly called for his resignation, citing serious managerial miscalculations and unfair decisions that have led to a profound crisis and division among the faithful.