World

Breakthrough talks have taken place between the US and the Russian Defence minister – after months of refusal. Sergei Shoigu spoke for an hour with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin who, according to the Pentagon, called for an “immediate ceasefire”. Austin said that while the call did not resolve any “acute issues” it was an

Ukraine’s head of military intelligence says the war with Russia is going so well, that it will reach a turning point by mid-August and be over by the end of the year. It is the most precise and optimistic prediction by a senior Ukrainian official so far. In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Major

Evidence of “credible allegations” of sexual violence against children by Russian troops, and other violations of UN Security Council rules on young people in wartime, have been recorded by a senior British diplomat. Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, said there was evidence “Russia is committing four of the Security Council’s six grave

In this slow grinding war of artillery, the front lines move back and forth in a deadly dance – but on the outskirts of Kharkiv the Russians are in retreat. The villages here have been battered and so too have the Kremlin’s forces, with remnants of armoured vehicles burned up on the side of the

Finland has announced it wants to join NATO as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. President Sauli Niinisto said the country, which shares an 810-mile border and a difficult past with Russia, must apply for membership to the organisation “without delay”. In a joint statement with the country’s prime minister Sanna Marin, they added: “We

Political activist and member of the Russian band Pussy Riot has reportedly fled the country disguised as food courier after criticising Vladimir Putin. Maria Alyokhina and her fellow band members first came to the attention of the Russian authorities after staging a protest against the Russian president inside Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in 2012.

As Russian troops continue their pounding of the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol, a photo-journalist has revealed the grim extent of the suffering inside. In a series of stark pictures, a photographer with the press office of the Azov Special Forces Regiment of the Ukrainian National Guard has unveiled the horror of the dimly-lit, makeshift

The Russian offensive in the breakaway Donbas region of eastern Ukraine is “building” and is expected to peak in the next two to three weeks, according to Sky’s defence analyst Michael Clarke. He also said what happens between now and the end of this month will determine how much room for manoeuvre President Vladimir Putin

US President Joe Biden says he fears Vladimir Putin does not have a way out of the Ukraine war. Speaking in Washington DC on Monday, Biden described the Russian president as “a very calculating man” but without an exit strategy and admitted “I’m trying to figure out what we do about that”. He said Putin

Vladimir Putin says Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine was a pre-emptive move to ward off aggression, accusing the West of “preparing for the invasion of our land, including Crimea”. The Russian president was leading anniversary celebrations in Moscow of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Victory Day in Russia – an annual

Russian military leaders are as much to blame for the Ukraine invasion as President Vladimir Putin – and both should face consequences, the UK defence secretary has said. In a major speech today, Ben Wallace is expected to not mince his words, and tell the world bluntly, that Mr Putin and his inner circle should

Sixty people are feared dead under rubble after a Russian bomb hit a school in eastern Ukraine. About 90 people were sheltering in the building when the bomb struck, causing a fire to engulf it on Saturday, the governor of the Luhansk region said. Two people have been confirmed dead and 60 others are “likely

A further £1.3bn in military support will be provide by the UK to Ukrainian forces as they fight against Russia’s invasion. The escalation of British assistance for Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s forces is the highest rate of UK military spending on a conflict since the height of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. The £1.3bn, drawn from

North Korea has test-fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile just days before South Korea inaugurates a new leader who has vowed to take a hard line against Pyongyang. Seoul said the rocket was launched early on Saturday from near the eastern port city of Sinpo, where the North has a submarine base. Japan also confirmed

New satellite images of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol show how the site has been the target of extensive shelling over the course of the war. The images, which were released by satellite imaging company Planet, show what the site looked like on eight separate dates, beginning on 10 March. One of the images appears

A war zone is no place for the vulnerable, no place for the sick. We’re visiting the cancer ward of a Ukrainian children’s hospital, where doctors know this and are planning an evacuation operation that is as delicate as it is tough. They hope to organise a medical convoy that will take some of the

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the situation in Mariupol as “hell”, while Ukrainian fighters prepare for what could be their final stand against Russia. It is estimated that around 2,000 Ukrainian fighters are in tunnels underneath the Azovstal steel plant. They are the last pocket of resistance in a city almost completely destroyed by

From the most dangerous areas around Kharkiv there is an almost constant exodus of people fleeing homes they cannot be sure they will ever see again. Oleg Koval, 43, and his wife Yulia, 23, stayed behind to help those in need. At first, they were just giving their friends a lift away from danger, but

A British man who joined a controversial Ukrainian military unit says he is willing is spend the next year defending against Russia’s invasion – and he has not been deterred by the capture of other Britons. Mark Ayres has spent the past two months in Ukraine after joining the Azov Regiment, which has far-right origins

The European Union has announced plans to ban Russian oil by the end of the year as part of a sixth package of sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the bloc’s parliament in Strasbourg that member states should cease to buy oil supplies within six

Russian forces have begun storming the steel mill containing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. The takeover began after evacuations from the bombed-out plant saw scores of Ukrainian survivors finally reaching safety following long days and nights holed up inside under constant shelling. One woman said the assault began “as soon as we were

Ukrainian troops will beat Russia and the country will “be free” from occupation, Boris Johnson has told Ukraine’s parliament – adding that it is a fight of “good versus evil”. The UK prime minister, who has become the first world leader to address Ukrainian MPs since Russia invaded in late February, said Ukraine had proven

Boris Johnson will address the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday, becoming the first world leader to do so since the outbreak of war in February. In a recorded address, the prime minister will praise Ukraine’s resistance against tyranny and announce a new £300m package of military aid to support the country’s ongoing defence against Russia. In

The Ukrainian president’s top aide says he does not believe Moscow will launch a nuclear strike against his country because Russia’s decision-makers know they could end up dying in a global, nuclear war. Andriy Yermak also told Sky News he hoped Ukraine would “soon” defeat Russia’s invading forces and secure victory. Mr Yermak paid tribute

A long-awaited operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol is finally under way. Sviatoslav Palamar, the deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, said “a ceasefire has finally happened”. He said he hoped the evacuations from the steelworks continue until everyone in the plant, civilians and soldiers,

The United Nations is working to broker a civilian evacuation from the last defensive stronghold in the port city of Mariupol, as resistance in a steelworks continues to hold out. Ukrainian forces were fighting village by village to hold back a Russian advance through the country’s east on Saturday. About 100,000 civilians are still in

The contractions started after she learnt her husband, a Ukrainian border guard, had been killed by a Russian sniper. Viktoria Nazarenko, 34, gave birth to twin boys the next day. Joy overwhelmed by grief at the loss of Sergeant Bogdan Nazarenko, their father. “It’s all I have left from him – my babies and my

Moldova’s foreign minister has told Sky News that the future of his country and Europe depends on how the war in Ukraine ends. In a frank interview from his office in the capital Chisinau, Nicu Popescu revealed that: Moldova is on a “heightened state of alert” the future of Moldova and Europe rests on a

Russia is attempting to “empty” the Donbas of people and peace talks are in danger of collapsing, Ukraine’s president has claimed. Speaking in his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of carrying out “constant brutal bombardments” on buildings and residential areas of the eastern region of his country. He compared the barrage of attacks as

Two British aid workers who have reportedly been captured by Russian forces in Ukraine have been named. UK non-profit organisation Presidium Network said Paul Urey and Dylan Healey were captured on Monday. They are understood to have been captured at a checkpoint south of the city of Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine. Mr Urey has been

A British man has been killed in Ukraine and a second Briton is missing. Scott Sibley has been named as the Briton who died. It is thought the pair had been fighting against Russian forces as volunteers in support of Ukraine‘s military, although this has not been confirmed. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

A British army veteran has been killed and a second British man is missing after they were believed to have travelled to Ukraine to fight against Russia’s forces. Scott Sibley, 36, is the first British national confirmed to have died in the war. A friend described him as the bravest person he knew. Another said

Western allies must “double down” on support for Ukraine with both heavy weapons and air power, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said. In a keynote foreign policy speech, Ms Truss said the international architecture intended to guarantee peace and prosperity had failed Ukraine in the face of an attack by a “desperate rogue operator” and now