What happened on the day of May 29. The main thing

The state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kazakhstan ended in Astana on May 29. The Head of State summed up the results of the trip at a press conference, stating that all the goals of the trip had been achieved. Also on this day, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of four settlements in the special military operation zone, and in Romania, an unknown drone crashed into an apartment building. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Putin held a press conference following his visit to Kazakhstan

Summing up the results of his state visit to Kazakhstan, which took place on May 27-29, Putin said that all the goals had been achieved.

"We are pleased with these results, because we have, as it were, drawn a line under what has been achieved. We have a record trade turnover — over $20 billion is leaving and has good growth trends," the president said.

Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, answering a question from Izvestia, also assessed the last state visit as "very good."

Answering questions from journalists during the conference, Putin said that foreign journalists should be ashamed of covering up information about the terrorist attack staged by Ukraine at the Starobilsk College of the Lugansk People's Republic (LNR).

"You, the media representatives, should be ashamed of your colleagues. Not a word at all, just not a single word about the tragedy in Starobilsk, that the children died, that our children were purposefully killed. Not a word, as if it doesn't exist. Well, what is this?" said the Russian leader, calling the current situation a "nightmare" and a deception. Putin also called the Western media "a means of mass deception."

Answering a question about the EU negotiator on the situation in Ukraine, Putin said that Russia does not appoint him for itself — this is a matter for unification itself. "I think those in the European Union are right who say that they themselves must determine the negotiator. We do not appoint," the Russian president said. At the same time, he called former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who was proposed by him for the role of a parliamentarian from Moscow, his friend and noted that contacts on the situation in Ukraine remain, although negotiations are now on pause.

Speaking about the situation around Armenia and the Eurasian Economic Union, the Russian president said that the republic would lose 14% of its gross domestic product if it had to raise energy prices due to its withdrawal from the EAEU.

"According to our preliminary estimates — not even ours, at the expert level, different experts believe this — this will lead to a loss of at least 14% of Armenia's GDP," Putin said, noting that the Russian side will raise energy prices for Armenia upon its withdrawal from the Union.

Putin meets with Lukashenko on the sidelines of the EAEU summit

Putin also held a separate meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union summit. The leaders of the two countries met at the Palace of Independence of Kazakhstan after the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.

On the same day, Lukashenko said that the creation of the EAEU had strengthened each of the member countries of the association. According to him, the main goals of the EAEU remain ensuring macroeconomic stability and improving the quality of life of citizens.

The Russian army liberated four settlements in a day

Over the past day, the Russian army has liberated the settlements of Lesnoye, Novopodgorodnoye, Budarki and Karaichnoye in the special military operation zone. This was announced on May 28 by the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to the ministry, units of the North group of forces took control of the settlements of Budarka and Karaichnoye in the Kharkiv region. In turn, the military personnel of the Center group of forces liberated Novopodgorodnoye in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

A drone crashed into an apartment building in Romania

Mediafax news agency reported that the drone crashed into an apartment building in the city of Galac in eastern Romania. As a result, a fire started in one of the apartments, two people were injured. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Tsoyu added that the drone strike could be the basis for consultations under Article 4 of NATO. She also said that the Romanian authorities had already informed the allies about the incident.

On May 29, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the statements of the European Union (EU) countries about the situation with UAVs in Romania an attempt to divert attention from the actions of the Ukrainian side.

The US Treasury Department has extended the license for operations with Lukoil assets

The US Treasury Department has extended the general license allowing certain operations related to Lukoil's foreign assets. The new validity period of the permit is set until June 27, 2026. The document is published on the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury. The decision concerns the possibility to negotiate, agree on terms and conclude contracts within the framework of the possible sale of the foreign division of Lukoil International GmbH. The permit applies exclusively to the company's international assets.