What happened on the day of July 31. The main thing

Migration crisis in Ceuta, Spain: about 49,000 illegal migrants entered the Spanish enclave from Morocco during the day, prompting threats of suspension of the Schengen Agreement from Italy and increased control at the borders of France. The armed forces of Ukraine have launched massive attacks on the regions of Russia, there are dead and wounded. New laws will come into force in Russia on August 1: tax notices will be sent to Gosuslugi, the rules for labeling goods and refunding insurance premiums will change. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Migration crisis in Ceuta

The Spanish enclave of Ceuta is facing the largest migration crisis in the 21st century. According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, about 49,000 illegal migrants have entered the city from Morocco over the past 24 hours, four times the number who arrived during the 2021 crisis.

The massive influx has brought the city to the brink of collapse. Thousands of people reached the Spanish territory on foot and by swimming across the sea. According to media reports, about 20 people died before reaching the city. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who visited Ceuta, called the mass border crossing "an attack on the territorial integrity of Spain."

The situation has caused a split in Europe. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced her readiness to suspend the Schengen Agreement with Spain. She was supported by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Finnish Foreign Minister Mari Rantanen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry summoned the Italian ambassador, calling his Italian counterpart's statement "unworthy of the foreign minister of a partner country." France has strengthened border controls on the border with Spain. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko called the situation "the collapse of the EU's immigration policy."

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles Fernandez said that migrants who illegally entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta will be returned to Morocco.

Putin's meeting with the head of Russian Railways

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov. Belozerov reported that the company is building a 7.8 thousand km long quantum backbone network connecting 27 regions and 13 million cities. Putin expressed hope that this technology will be profitable. Belozerov also said that transportation figures with China increased by 5.5%, with Belarus — by 3%.

Putin instructed Russian Railways not to forget about the export of coal from the Kemerovo region and to continue providing medical assistance to the participants of the SVR — more than 21 thousand soldiers have already benefited from the support of railway medicine. Putin recalled that Russian Railways is the most reliable railway in the world.

Ukrainian Armed Forces attacks on Russian regions

Five people were injured in a massive attack in the Volgograd region. The attack caused a fire at an industrial enterprise in the fuel and energy sector in the south of Volgograd and at the warehouses of the Wildberries marketplace in the Dzerzhinsky district. The windows of eight apartment buildings in the Traktorozavodsky district, as well as a private household in the Krasnoarmeysky district, were damaged.

In the Rostov region, one person was injured in the attack. In one of the apartment buildings, the floors collapsed, and residents were evacuated. In Bataysk, private houses and a store building were damaged. In Rostov-on-Don, falling debris caused a forest fire, which was extinguished.

In the Zelenodolsk district of Tatarstan, an attempt by a drone attack on a logistics center was repelled — there was no damage or injuries. In Kakhovka, Kherson region, seven people were injured as a result of a drone attack.

At least eight people were injured in the DPR as a result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack on the Krasnodar–Donetsk bus. In the Rostov region, in the village of Rogozhkino, a child was injured when the wreckage of a drone fell. In the Belgorod region, a woman was killed and her husband was wounded during shelling. In Sevastopol, one person was killed and 11 houses were damaged as a result of a drone crash.

The advance of the Russian Armed Forces in the special operation zone

The Ministry of Defense reported that from July 25 to July 31, one massive and 15 group strikes with precision weapons were carried out against military targets in Ukraine. Military industry enterprises, logistics centers, military airfields, ammunition depots, production and storage facilities for drones, fuel, energy and transport infrastructure facilities were affected.

During the week, 31 naval vessels used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit. More than 5,000 drones were also destroyed during the week. The settlements of Stenka in the DPR and Verovka in the Kharkiv region have been liberated.

The trial of blogger Lercek

On July 31, the Gagarin Court of Moscow held a debate on the criminal case of blogger Valeria Chekalina (Lerchek). The state prosecution requested six years of probation and a fine of 1.2 billion rubles for her.

The blogger's defense asked the court to acquit her completely or release her from punishment due to her serious health condition. Lercek declined to comment to reporters after the end of the debate on the case of illegal currency transactions.

Following the meeting, Lercek was sentenced to five years of probation and fined 765 million rubles.

Murder of a Russian woman in Serbia

A Turkish citizen has been detained in Serbia on suspicion of murdering Lyudmila Turkova, a 28-year-old Russian citizen. A man born in 2001 was detained at the Nikola Tesla Airport while trying to leave the country.

According to investigators, he committed the murder on July 26 in a rented apartment in Borcha district, after which he placed the woman's body in a suitcase and hid it in the Wiesel Canal. The suspect is scheduled to be detained for up to 48 hours, after which he will be transferred to the prosecutor's office.

Murder of Russians in Thailand

The brutal murder of the Nazimov brothers and sisters, 22—year-old Diana and 17-year-old Roman, was revealed in Pattaya. The suspects detained by the Thai police confessed to the murder. Two local residents, Ai Pong and Ai Tong, wanted to steal a motorcycle, but the brother and sister resisted, after which the young man was shot and the girl was beaten to death. The suspects then buried the bodies in the Sak Ngai forest, and also dismantled and buried the motorcycle itself.

When examining the burial site indicated by the detainees, the police found five bodies. The collection of evidence continues, and the investigation identifies all those involved. The Russian Embassy in Thailand will provide the necessary assistance to the mother of the victims. Ilya Ilyin, head of the consular department, said that the Russian side hopes for an impartial investigation and fair punishment of the perpetrators.

What will change in the lives of Russians from August 1

Starting from August 1, 2026, a number of legislative changes will come into force in Russia, which will affect the tax sphere, financial services, labor protection and the procedure for providing public services.

Funded pensions will be indexed by 17.3%, fixed—term pension payments - by 19.32%. Insurance pensions will be automatically recalculated for working pensioners. Tax notifications will now be automatically sent to personal accounts on the Gosuslugi portal — citizens will no longer need to submit their consent in advance. Tax secrecy is also extended to documents in your personal account.

The Bank of Russia will strengthen control over installment service operators. The procedure for refunding the insurance premium will change: if the policyholder cancels the policy before the start of its validity, the company is obliged to refund part of the amount paid.

A single mechanism for the protection of product labeling codes is being introduced in the EAEU. In the Honest Sign system, the operator will be able to refuse registration of goods if the specified volume or weight exceeds the data of the vet documents by more than 5%. Since August, mandatory labeling has been applied to certain types of meat products.

The labor protection training rules have been updated and will be in effect until September 1, 2032. The requirements for training programs, maintaining a register of trained persons, training workers in hazardous industries, first aid training and the use of PPE have been clarified. First aid programs will include stopping bleeding and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Since July 26, the children of the Heroes of Russia have been eligible for primary enrollment in kindergartens and schools. Starting from August 26, members of volunteer formations will be able to take additional leave. Criminal liability is being introduced for violating the requirements when concluding communication agreements with foreigners and for violating the secrecy of correspondence out of self—interest - up to four years in prison.