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.