World

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

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

More than 300 civilians were evacuated from the ruined Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and the surrounding areas on Wednesday, the Red Cross has said. This includes “several dozen civilians” who left the besieged Azovstal steel plant and reached Zaporizhzhia during a five-day safe passage operation, the charity said in a statement. “We are relieved

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

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

The man suspected of abducting Madeleine McCann insists he was many miles from the scene having sex in his camper van with a young woman who will back his alibi. Christian B says he drove the woman to the airport at Faro, Portugal, for a flight home the next day and they were stopped and

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