World

Ukraine’s foreign minister has insisted that Western fighter jets would not be used by his country to strike targets within Russia. Speaking to Sky News at the United Nations in New York, Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine needs the jets to end the war and push Russia back beyond its eastern borders. “We’re using weapons which

About 200,000 people have gathered in Moscow to hear Vladimir Putin speak at a pro-war rally ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Huge crowds assembled in the capital as the Russian president took to the stage at the “Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland” concert, held at the Luzhniki Stadium on

Russia’s president had a message of defiance for the West as he suspended participation in the last major nuclear arms control treaty with the United States. Vladimir Putin also vowed to conduct nuclear weapons tests if Washington chose to do so and challenged the nuclear weapons posture of the UK and France. If anyone in

Vladimir Putin has blamed the West for starting the war in Ukraine and claimed Russia responded with force “in order to stop it”. In a speech describing his aims as the first anniversary of the conflict nears, the Russian president said Ukraine was in talks with the West about weapons before Russia invaded its neighbour

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the Turkey-Syria border two weeks after a massive quake in the same region left more than 45,000 people dead, the US Geological Survey has said. Turkey’s AFAD disaster management agency said the earthquake was centered around the town of Defne in the country’s Hatay province, which was devastated by

Former US national security adviser John Bolton has described China as “the existential threat in the 21st century”, after a suspected spy balloon was shot down over North American airspace earlier this month. He told Sky News: “This balloon should be a wake up call for people in the US, Europe and elsewhere who don’t

On the eve of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine there are ominous warnings the Ukraine conflict could widen and draw in other countries. America says China is considering entering the conflict as an active partner of Russia and will start sending weapons. And there are very real fears Vladimir Putin is stepping up

Almost a year since the Russian invasion, sirens, shelters, and blackouts have become normality for residents in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv But days without outages and a change in the weather have offered some respite for those whose lives have been changed, including Sky News Ukraine War Diarist Oksana. Click to subscribe to Ukraine War

Japan’s space agency aborted the launch of its first new rocket in more than 20 years after parts of the system failed. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) stopped the launch of its flagship H3 rocket moments before lift-off when a pair of its auxiliary rockets did not ignite. A TV livestream showed smoke had

Russia is due to take part in a joint naval exercise with China and South Africa which could see the test launch of a hypersonic cruise missile – as Western leaders assemble for a major security conference. A frigate armed with the Zircon weapon has been deployed for 10 days of joint drills in the

Israel’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a law to strip Arabs of their Israeli citizenship or residency if they are convicted in nationalistic attacks or give money to prisoners. The law was passed by 94 votes to 10 by the hard-right coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many opposition politicians, while Arab representatives voted against

A suspicious aerial object looking like a weather balloon has been spotted flying in Romania’s airspace. The country’s air force scrambled two MiG 21 LanceR jets to the area in the southeast 10 minutes after its surveillance system detected the object, but they were unable to confirm its presence, the defence ministry said. The planes

Indian tax officials have raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi. Teams from the tax department surveyed the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting officials who were not identified. A BBC spokesperson said: “The income tax authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and

The Philippines has accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser and temporarily blinding some of its crew in the disputed South China Sea. In an incident which it called a “blatant” violation of Manila’s sovereign rights, the Chinese ship reportedly manoeuvered dangerously close, about 137m

Hugging a cow on Valentine’s Day is no longer being encouraged by the Indian government – despite it previously asking people to do so to promote Hindu values. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) retracted its “Cow Hug Day” appeal after it attracted criticism from political rivals and social media users. The Indian government

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spent two decades in power, serving as Turkey’s prime minister from 2003 to 2014, when he was elected president.  He now faces the enormous challenge of rebuilding swathes of the country that have crumbled to rubble in the most devastating earthquake since 1999. He is also seeking re-election in May. Who

Australia is to remove security cameras made by firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party from its defence department buildings. At least 913 cameras, intercoms, entry systems and video recorders made by Hikvision and Dahua are in government offices, including the defence and foreign affairs departments, said The Australian newspaper. China‘s government partly owns the

The heart of this disaster lies at the end of the highway which leads to Kahramanmaras, a bustling city of a million people, perched up in the mountains of central Turkey. The setting is spectacular but this community also sits along the East Anatolian Fault. When two major earthquakes ruptured the surface on Monday, the

Russia will not run out of weapons or troops for its war “any time soon” and Vladimir Putin thinks he can “bomb” Ukraine to the negotiating table, a European spy agency has warned. The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service (EFIS) – the Estonian equivalent of the UK’s MI6 – also said that a Russian victory in

Rescue efforts continue following the devastating earthquakes which struck Turkey and Syria. More than 5,100 people are dead as a result of the tremors, which saw buildings crumble within seconds and left thousands trapped under what remained. Patients left to die in ‘forgotten hospitals’ – earthquake latest As emergency responders, military forces, aid workers, and