The Rostov Region was the only southern Russian territory mentioned in the Ministry of Defense’s report on attacks that took place overnight into November 1. According to the ministry, a total of 235 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down over Russian territory during the preceding 12 hours.

Amnesty International has called on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to immediately release journalist and researcher Bahruz Samadov, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of treason. The human rights organisation fears that he may be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention and denied the medical care he needs.

Armenia will introduce a new biometric identification system on 1 November, with citizens set to receive passports containing electronic chips and a new generation of national ID cards. The reform is intended to make Armenian identity documents compatible with international authentication systems and, in the longer term, allow their holders to pass through automated border gates.

Utility bills rose across the North Caucasus on 1 October. The average increase across the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) was 14.5% — almost 2.7 percentage points higher than in the rest of Russia. The national average stands at around 12%.