World

The foreign secretary has called on countries to reject the “charade” of referenda to be held in Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council, James Cleverly said Vladimir Putin plans to fix the results of votes on becoming parts of Russia. It comes as a prosecutor at the

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded “just punishment” for Russia’s crime against his nation. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly by video, Mr Zelenskyy laid out a five-point plan to establish peace in the seven-month-long conflict. The non-negotiable conditions included punishment for Russian aggression, restoration of Ukraine’s security, and territorial integrity and security guarantees. Speaking

Five Britons who were detained by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have been released and are being safely returned, Liz Truss has said. The prime minister tweeted: “Hugely welcome news that five British nationals held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine are being safely returned, ending months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their

President Putin has accused the West of engaging in “nuclear blackmail” and warned he has “lots of weapons to reply”. In a rare address to the nation, he said he wasn’t bluffing and would use “all the means available to us” if Russian territory was threatened. Mr Putin also ordered an immediate “partial mobilisation” –

We waited at a checkpoint near the Ukrainian’s defensive line for the southern counter-offensive. We had permission to be there, but the soldiers were unhappy, and all those permissions had to be rechecked. The Ukrainian government and military have imposed an almost complete blackout of information on the southern counter-attack that has the Russian-held city

A Ukrainian man has alleged he was tied up, beaten and shocked with an electric charge during Russia’s occupation of his village. But instead of Russian soldiers abusing him directly, Andrii Matiazh, 46, alleged it was local Ukrainian policemen who had switched allegiance. “Someone tortured me,” he said, speaking at his home in Volokhivka, which

The remains of two children are among 146 bodies exhumed at a mass burial site close to the city of Izyum in eastern Ukraine, according to an official. Many of the victims are civilians, with some feared to have been tortured while enduring a violent death, authorities said on Monday. The mass burial site containing

A Russian singer has denounced Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and asked to be placed on her country’s foreign agents list in solidarity with her husband. Alla Pugacheva’s husband, singer and TV presenter Maxim Galkin, was added to the foreign agents register on Friday by Russia’s justice ministry. His criticism of Russia for sending troops

As an intense typhoon batters southern Japan with torrential rain and gales, authorities have ordered millions people to evacuate their homes, according to local reports. Public broadcaster NHK said local governments have now ordered more than eight million people in southern and western Japan to flee due to Typhoon Nanmadol, which has already triggered power

Thrown back by the rapid Ukrainian offensive in the Kharkiv region east of Ukraine, the Russians were going to have to dig in somewhere. And now we can begin to see where. They are certainly making a stand at Svatove, east of the Oskil River. This is really important to them because Svatove controls the

Rows of crosses lined the woodland, enveloped by the unmistakable smell of death. Each makeshift wooden marker jutted out of a mound of earth where a body was buried. Some displayed the names of the deceased, but the majority just bore numbers because the identity was unknown. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible

Protests have broken out in Iran after a young woman died following her detention by morality police. Mahsa Amini fell into a coma while in custody in Tehran after being arrested by officers enforcing the country’s strict hijab rules. Police said the 22-year-old was taken to hospital after she allegedly had a heart attack. Pro-reform

Vladimir Putin says Russia will do everything it can to bring the Ukraine war to an end “as soon as possible”, despite the direction of the conflict swinging against his military in recent days. Russian troops have been routed in parts of the north east with thousands of square kilometres of territory liberated by defence

A mass burial site containing around 440 graves has been found in the Ukrainian city of Izyum after it was liberated from Russian control, a top police officer has told Sky News. Serhii Bolvinov, the chief police investigator for Kharkiv region, said all the bodies would be exhumed and taken away for forensic examination as

A leaked video appears to show a close ally of President Vladimir Putin offering pardons to Russian prisoners if they fight in Ukraine – but warning they will be shot dead if they desert when they get there. In the footage, a man who is believed to be Yevgeny Prigozhin, the reported head of the

The Ukrainian soldier stooped over an ammunition box and picked up what looked like a giant, metal cork. ”Russian landmine,” he said. He walked to another discarded crate inside a large warehouse. “This is a mortar,” the serviceman, 39, said, holding up the deadly weapon, which was the shape of a stretched, grey-coloured balloon. The haul

A scrum of desperation surged around the Ukrainian relief truck in a town that was liberated from Russian control just days earlier. “Please give me an aid parcel son, I have a walking stick,” said one tiny, old woman, crushed up against the back of the vehicle as others tried to grab for help over

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the newly-recaptured town of Izium on Wednesday for the national flag-raising ceremony in a show of triumph. A Ukrainian military brigade said that the town is a key supply hub in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. Mr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the soldiers for “liberating Ukrainian lands” and went on

Ukraine’s military has a chance of removing Russian troops from all the territory they have claimed since February, a senior military analyst has told Sky News. Professor Michael Clarke said such a development would be a “huge victory” – adding that while recent gains in Kharkiv are important, retaking Kherson in the south would be

Ukrainian forces have retaken 6,000 square kilometres of their homeland – 3,000 of them in the past six days alone, it has been reported. And in his nightly address to his nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the “advance of our forces” was still continuing. His claims appear to be supported by renowned think tank, the

The Russian troops suddenly started shouting wildly and running around, before scrambling into their tanks and fleeing the tiny village in eastern Ukraine, one resident said. The chaotic scenes in Zaliznychne took place the day before a small group of Ukrainian troops appeared. Ukraine war latest updates: Russia suffers ‘incredible’ major setback after being tricked

Ukrainian forces have continued to make “significant gains” in the Kharkiv region as its counter-offensive against Russia continues. The UK Ministry of Defence has said that Russia has likely withdrawn units from the area in northeastern Ukraine, in its daily intelligence update. The shock advance by Ukrainian forces in the past four days has seen

Ukraine has used cunning and firepower to blast a devastating hole in Russia’s eastern front line. The prospect of a Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian-held positions in the south of the country had long been anticipated and talked about by both sides. But the sight of Ukrainian forces over recent days tearing down Russian flags and

Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has described meeting the Queen as the most nervous moment of his life. The former leader recalled how he and his wife Jenny had been hurriedly trying to prepare for the occasion at Buckingham Palace in 2019. “Jenny was YouTubing how to curtsy in the car,” he said. Bank holiday approved for

Russia has ordered its troops to withdraw from two front line positions in eastern Ukraine in the face of a shock advance by Ukrainian forces. The retreat on Saturday marked the most significant gain for Ukraine‘s military since they defeated a Russian attempt to conquer the capital, Kyiv, back in March. “The Russian army in

A bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth II sitting astride a horse marks the entrance to Ottawa’s Rideau Hall, a nod to a head of state and equestrienne who continued to ride well into her tenth decade. Canada was one of 15 sovereign states of which the Queen was monarch at the time of her death,

The prime minister of New Zealand has told how she was woken at 5am by a police officer shining a torch into her bedroom to tell her the news of the Queen’s death. Jacinda Ardern’s anecdote, and subsequent heartfelt tribute to Her Majesty, is just one of many from the heads of Commonwealth nations. New

Leaders around the world have paid tribute to the Queen, with Joe Biden saying she was more than a monarch – “she defined an era”. As they did so, landmarks across the globe shone in red, white and blue or went dark as a mark of respect, and flowers and wreaths were laid at UK

The final suspect in the recent mass stabbings in and around a Canadian reserve has died after being run off the road, police have confirmed. Myles Sanderson, 32, was found near the town of Rosthern, in the central Saskatchewan province, as officers responded to reports of a stolen vehicle being driven by a man armed

The final suspect in the recent mass stabbings in and around a Canadian reserve has died from self-inflicted injuries, an official has said. Myles Sanderson, 32, was found near the town of Rosthern, in the central Saskatchewan province, as officers responded to reports of a stolen vehicle being driven by a man armed with a

Vladimir Putin has said that Russia has not lost anything as a result of its war in Ukraine as he vowed to press on with military action. The Russian president said that the Kremlin’s special military operation, as he describes it, was designed to strengthen his country’s sovereignty and was aimed at “helping people” living

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the global nuclear watchdog to force Russia into demilitarising the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant – and return its control to Ukraine. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) travelled to the facility last week and warned there was an “urgent need” for interim measures to prevent a

Authorities in Pakistan are rushing to widen a breach in its biggest lake to keep the waters from overflowing, as an unprecedented monsoon season threatens a 4,500-year-old archaeological site. Unprecedented floods have affected 33 million people and killed at least 1,325, including 466 children, national disaster officials have said. Record-breaking rains have inflicted damage on