World

All four of the occupied areas of Ukraine have voted to join Russia after referendums in the republics and regions, pro-Moscow officials have said. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is one of the many western politicians who earlier described the votes in the self-declared republics of Luhansk and Donetsk and the regions of Kherson and

The Nord Stream pipeline network, part of which supplies Germany with gas from Russia, has been damaged in three places, its operator has said. The damage to the system on the bed of the Baltic Sea – all caused in one day – was “unprecedented”, Nord Stream AG added. The Kremlin said it could not

New satellite images showing large numbers of Russians fleeing to Georgia and Mongolia have been released after Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reservists for the conflict in Ukraine. The images show queues of vehicles – cargo trucks and cars – waiting in long traffic jams attempting to get over the borders.

A man has opened fire on an enlistment centre and another recruitment office has been attacked with Molotov cocktails – after Vladimir Putin ordered the conscription of at least 300,000 men in Russia. The violence comes as the first tranche of people ordered to report for duty arrive at military bases, and it follows a

Italy’s Democratic Party has conceded defeat in the country’s election after an exit poll suggested far-right leader Giorgia Meloni’s alliance is leading the vote. The Democratic Party said it would be Italy‘s main opposition force after an exit poll indicated Ms Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party would win 22-26% of the vote. The right-wing coalition

If there is a way out of the war in Ukraine, Professor Igor Serdyuk and his wife Tatyana, have probably found it. They now live as refugees in a peaceful market town in rural Ireland. Their home city, in the Kherson region, was taken by the Russians on the first day of the invasion but

As Finland looks set to ban Russian tourists from crossing the border to escape being drafted into Vladimir Putin’s army, Estonia has warned residents they will be banned from the EU if they too join up. On Wednesday, Russia’s leader – faced with a series of defeats in Ukraine – announced a partial mobilisation that

Iran’s president says protesters should be “dealt with decisively” following nationwide anti-government unrest sparked by the death of a young woman in police custody. Authorities have been cracking down for days on demonstrators who are angry over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She had been arrested for allegedly wearing “unsuitable attire”. Iranian state TV

The southern counteroffensive by the Ukrainians to recapture the city of Kherson has been known about but unseen. The entire frontline has been closed to everyone for over two weeks, indeed it’s been shrouded in secrecy. After days of negotiation the military relented and allowed Sky News to the Kherson frontline to see what has

The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran’s morality police and leaders of government agencies after the death of a woman in police custody sparked protests and worldwide condemnation. At least nine protesters and two security force officers have been killed in violent demonstrations since the weekend following 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death. The morality police

Draft-aged Russians have apparently begun to flee the country as it enters is biggest conscription drive since the Second World War – with plane ticket prices soaring above $5,000 (£4,443) and border crossings increasing. Vladimir Putin launched a new mobilisation campaign on Wednesday for the seven-month-old war in Ukraine that has already decimated cities, killed

Five Britons released from Russian detention in Ukraine after a prisoner swap have arrived back “safely” in the UK. One of the men, Shaun Pinner, has been pictured with his family after they were reunited. “If you thought COVID highlighted the importance of family, this is even bigger,” his sister, Cassandra, told Sky News. Aiden

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

President Putin has accused the West of engaging in “nuclear blackmail” and warned he has “lots of weapons to reply” as he called up 300,000 more troops to the Ukraine war. 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

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

World leaders including US President Joe Biden, President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, have joined hundreds of other royals, heads of state, and rulers from across the globe for the Queen’s funeral. Many arrived in buses, having been ferried there from a meeting point in Chelsea, with most waiting in

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

A powerful  typhoon bearing down on southern japan has seen the region battered by gales and torrential rain leading to blackouts, major transport disruption and the evacuation of thousands of people. Weather forecasters have warned of strong winds and high waves “like never experienced before”, with the threat of rivers overflowing and landslides. Typhoon Nanmadol,