Authorities have brought additional criminal charges against the Mayor of Gyumri, Vardan Ghukasyan, who is currently held in pre-trial detention. 

Mayor Ghukasyan has been in pre-trial detention since October 2025 on bribery charges, which he denies. The city has been governed by an acting mayor ever since, as Ghukasyan’s powers were suspended amid the probe.

He is also accused of plotting a coup.

The new charges stem from Ghukasyan’s alleged actions during a court hearing on May 27 this year.

The Investigative Committee said in a press release that after the May 27 court hearing, Ghukasyan refused to comply with the bailiffs’ order to be taken to a holding cell in an attempt to speak to journalists, and allegedly resorted to violence and assaulted the officer on duty.

He has been charged with obstructing an on-duty official.

Public attitudes toward the EU in Armenia remain broadly positive, with 72% of respondents describing EU-Armenia relations as good and 56% saying they trust the EU—more than any other international actor—according to the 2026 Annual Survey – Armenia: Perception of the European Union.

The survey was conducted by the EU regional Communication Programme for the Eastern Neighbourhood (EU NEIGHBOURS East).

It was carried out in February and March 2026 through face-to-face interviews.

Respondents said they would like the EU to play a greater role in strengthening Armenia’s defense (25%), education and lifelong learning (23%), and agriculture and rural development (19%).

This year’s survey also found that 45% of respondents have a positive image of the European Union, while 30% hold a neutral view, 14% have no opinion, and only 11% have a negative opinion. Economic development (43%) and security (32%) were identified as the main areas in which EU support would further improve respondents’ perceptions of the bloc.

The EU is recognized as a key financial donor, with 75% of respondents aware of the assistance it provides to Armenia. However, perceptions of that assistance are mixed: 61% rated EU support as high or moderate, while only 17% identified the EU as Armenia’s largest donor.

David Abrahamyan, 10, from the Armenian town of Talin, has entered the Guinness World Records after setting a new record for consecutive one-legged hops on a moving treadmill, highlighting the growing success of young athletes training at the Hi-Am Dyutsaznatun Sports Center.

David completed 191 consecutive one-legged hops on a treadmill moving at 6.5 kilometers per hour, setting a new Guinness World Record.

Speaking at a press conference, David said he joined the Hi-Am Dyutsaznatun Sports Center about a year ago after hearing about it from friends and initially intended to attend simply to stay fit.

“I first came just to train, but Coach Roman inspired me and helped me set a Guinness World Record, for which I am very grateful,” David said.

He added that earning the world record had changed the way his friends viewed him, with some expressing interest in joining the sports center and trying to achieve similar success.

“It is very inspiring because very few people get to set a Guinness World Record. At the age of 10, it was certainly very difficult, and a lot of hard work lay ahead, but we succeeded,” he said.

Roman Sahradyan, director of the Hi-Am Dyutsaznatun Sports Center and a multiple Guinness World Records holder, said the previous record in the same discipline had been set by seven-year-old Narek Gljyan and that David has now surpassed it.

“As you can see, there is healthy competition among the children, and that is very important. They strive to train, succeed, and set new benchmarks. If David had not broken Narek’s record, Narek would not now be motivated to pursue new achievements. It is this healthy competition that produces such results,” Sahradyan said.

Nshan Adjemian, president of the Hi-Am Foundation, said the sports center has become an important institution for both the Talin region and Armenia as a whole.

“The results speak for themselves. We see a growing number of children who want to train at the center, as well as an increasing number of Guinness World Records. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Hi-Am Foundation, and we are pleased to have created these opportunities and inspired children to achieve success,” he said.

According to the foundation, athletes training at the center have set more than 20 Guinness World Records, including 11 in 2025 alone. Certificates for eight of those records have already arrived in Armenia, while the remaining certificates are expected soon.

The center is also preparing another event in the coming days, during which 14 athletes will attempt to set 17 records in the Armenian Book of Records, seven of which will also be submitted to Guinness World Records for recognition.

Armenian Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan met with her Russian counterpart, Konstantin Chuychenko, in St. Petersburg, on the sidelines of the 14th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.

Galyan highly valued the bilateral meeting as an important opportunity to discuss current areas of cooperation between the justice ministries and to outline prospects for further development of collaboration, the ministry said in a press release.

The Russian minister emphasized the importance of cooperation with the Armenian Ministry of Justice and proposed expanding the bilateral treaty framework.

During the meeting, the sides also highlighted the importance of developing cooperation in the field of legal assistance, noting that it is a key area for strengthening bilateral relations and ensuring effective interaction between competent authorities.

Minister Galyan also addressed the need to further improve mechanisms for handling mutual legal assistance requests, stressing the importance of the continued development of practical cooperation in the field.

The sides also discussed opportunities to expand cooperation in the probation sector, emphasizing the importance of exchanging experience and introducing effective solutions in the field.

Taking the opportunity, Galyan invited the Russian justice minister to participate in the 20th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Justice of CIS member states, which will be held in November in Yerevan.

The event is considered an important platform for discussing current issues of legal cooperation, exchanging professional experience, and developing joint approaches on priority areas of collaboration.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting on Friday with officials to discuss the urban development concept for Kond, one of the oldest historical neighborhoods of Yerevan.

Pashinyan’s office said in a readout that the Chairman of the Urban Development Committee, Yeghiazar Vardanyan, said that the proposed model is based on a combination of preserving the district’s historic environment, promoting economic development, and enhancing cultural activity.

Accordingly, the planned works will focus on preserving monuments and historical heritage, improving engineering and transport infrastructure, increasing economic efficiency and investment attractiveness, and boosting tourism activity, among other goals.

It was emphasized that the reconstruction of the Kond district requires the implementation of urban planning regulations, including changes in functional designation, definition of architectural requirements for facades, determination of building height and development standards, as well as public investments. These include the preservation and restoration of monuments, modernization of the street network, development of engineering infrastructure, street lighting, and organization of district entrances.

During the discussion, the application of integrated restoration and management approaches in the district’s development process was also addressed.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the successful implementation of the concept requires the development of a clear action plan, precisely balancing urban planning, social, and economic factors.

Dr. Armen Muradyan has been re-elected rector of Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) following a vote by the university’s Board of Trustees on June 26.

According to a statement from the university, all 20 members of the Board of Trustees participated in the meeting, which was chaired by Board Chairman Mikael Adamyan.

The election was held by secret ballot, with Dr. Muradyan receiving 19 votes in favor and one invalid ballot recorded.

On May 27, the Board of Trustees had announced an open competition for the post of rector of YSMU, in accordance with established procedures.

Dr. Muradyan has served as rector of YSMU since 2016.

During a visit to the Netherlands, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan and Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan took part in a roundtable discussion in The Hague on the prospects for exporting Armenian flowers to the European market.

The event was organized by the Embassy of Armenia in the Netherlands.

According to the foreign ministry’s readout, the discussion was attended by representatives of the Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, as well as Armenian and Dutch flower producers, logistics and brokerage companies, and representatives of the Dutch flower auction house Royal FloraHolland.

Participants highlighted the importance of establishing long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as involving as many greenhouse farms as possible in export processes. The discussion also addressed state support programs aimed at developing the sector and potential assistance provided by the government.

The Armenian officials also visited the headquarters of Royal FloraHolland and two major Dutch flower production companies to observe auction procedures on site and discuss opportunities to expand cooperation with Armenian companies.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan and Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan met with the European Commission’s Director-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), Gert Jan Koopman, on the sidelines of the high-level Connectivity Agenda Platform event held in Brussels.

The Ministry of Economy said in a press release that the discussions focused on agreed programs aimed at developing economic and transport connectivity, as well as other issues related to the Armenia–EU partnership in this area.

In that context, both sides emphasized the importance of the Joint Declaration on the Armenia–EU Connectivity Partnership, signed within the framework of the first Armenia–EU summit.

Developments regarding the situation arising from economic restrictions on goods of Armenian origin were presented, and support provided by the EU and EU member states was highlighted.

Further steps in this direction were outlined. The two sides agreed to continue joint efforts aimed at strengthening Armenia’s economic resilience and identifying new export markets.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia has warned that false information is being circulated on X, including a fabricated video falsely presented as an official communication from the Seismic Protection Territorial Service of the ministry, which falsely claims that a warning has been issued about a possible 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Kotayk Province in the coming weeks.

The Ministry said in a press release that the post constitutes disinformation that misuses official branding and includes a fabricated reference to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

No such earthquake warning has been issued by the seismic protection agency.

The agency reports that specialists from the Seismic Protection Territorial Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia carry out 24-hour ongoing seismic hazard monitoring, and that timely and appropriate updates on earthquakes are published as necessary.

A discussion dedicated to the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture took place in Yerevan, organized by the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).

Human Rights Defender of Armenia Anahit Manasyan, in her opening remarks, emphasized the importance of the event and the topic for all actors engaged in the protection of human rights.

“I would like to particularly note that this field is quite large, multi-layered, and has many dimensions, and work in this direction presupposes the existence of a number of mechanisms. The primary one is, naturally, the prevention of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, which again implies a multi-layered process and the availability of proper preventive mechanisms, such as the Office of the Human Rights Defender as a national preventive mechanism and various monitoring groups acting as oversight bodies,” Manasyan said.

According to her, from the perspective of the prevention system, an important role is played by having a proper and favorable environment for reporting cases of torture, because if the environment is not safe and appropriate, then the mechanisms for addressing such cases are also not safe for victims in terms of reporting.

“It is extremely important that representatives of all systems, especially in places of deprivation of liberty—whether penitentiary institutions or detention facilities—and, of course, we also carry out very serious functions in this regard within the armed forces, that service members have proper information about what ill-treatment is and how it should be prevented,” the Human Rights Defender emphasized, highlighting the importance of working in an appropriate format to create an enabling environment, so that, in addition to preventive mechanisms, a safe environment is formed for reporting relevant incidents.

UNDP Resident Representative Natia Natsvlishvili, expressing readiness to continue and strengthen existing cooperation, noted that the European Commission, in its 2023 report, recorded a number of very positive developments in Armenia in terms of the prevention of torture.

However, she added that there are also challenges related to the situation and conditions in specific institutions.

The UNDP representative also emphasized the importance of using digital tools in the prevention of torture in order to increase the effectiveness of monitoring mechanisms through systematic oversight.

Tomasz Ostropolski, Deputy Head of the Political Section of the EU Delegation to Armenia, said that the European Union remains committed to continuing its support to Armenia in this field, as well as to strengthening the work of human rights mechanisms.

From the perspective of protecting the rights of vulnerable groups in Armenia and preventing torture, the speaker emphasized, alongside state and other human rights institutions, the role of civil society, describing it as irreplaceable.

Elīna Šteinerte, member and Vice-Chair for NPM of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, speaking online, noted that a four-year cooperation has already been established with the responsible bodies of Armenia’s National Preventive Mechanism.

“This event is truly a very important opportunity to understand Armenia’s approach in this field, and I wish us all a truly fruitful discussion, which is very important from the perspective of making Armenian society more protected,” Šteinerte said.

Afterwards, panel discussions began, focusing in particular on existing mechanisms for supporting victims of torture and other topical issues in the field.