World

Pointing to a grubby, grey sofa in the corner of a small room in her neighbour’s house, the Ukrainian mother said that was where a teenage Russian soldier raped her. It happened during an evening of terror, cruelty and murder in a rural village outside Kyiv. Vika, 42, said she decided to speak about the

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia looks “insane” for still trying to snatch victory in the Donbas region. Mr Zelenskyy said he was “grateful to each and everyone” still defending the Donbas and other eastern and southern regions, adding Ukraine was forcing Russian occupants to leave Ukrainian land “step by step”. On Saturday,

The West has declared a “total hybrid war” against Russia and it is hard to predict how long it will last, Moscow’s foreign minister has said. Sergei Lavrov said the consequences of the war in Ukraine will be felt around the world. But speaking about sanctions on Russia, he warned: “Western politicians should understand their

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

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

Finland is expected is today expected to say it wants to join NATO, in a major shift of security policy. Finland, which shares an 810 mile border and a difficult past with Russia, has gradually stepped up its cooperation with NATO as one of its ‘partner’ nations since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. But it

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