World

A US official has cast doubt on claims that sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators were victims of a poisoning earlier this month. Three men including Mr Abramovich suffered symptoms including red eyes, constant and painful tearing and peeling skin on their hands and faces, a source confirmed to Sky News. Mr

The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe with 160,000 civilians trapped, its mayor has said. Vadym Boychenko said the southern port city must be entirely evacuated and that 26 buses were waiting to begin transporting people away from the area. But he said Russian forces had not agreed to

The near silence and utter wasteland left behind by this Russian invasion is crushingly complete and takes your breath away. The cultural centre of Byshiv village is levelled. There’s a small pile of Ukrainian poetry books which someone has stacked together. Image: Some books have been saved Macron warns Biden over regime change confusion –

The battlefield in northern Ukraine remains “largely static” but Russian troops are concentrating efforts on the “encirclement” of Ukrainian forces in the east, the Ministry of Defence has said. In its latest intelligence update, the MoD said local counterattacks have hampered Russian attempts to reorganise its forces. It said: “Russian forces appear to be concentrating

Russia claims it has launched missile strikes on a Ukrainian military infrastructure from the Black Sea in the northwestern city of Zhytomyr – around 96 miles from the capital of Kyiv. A crew of a small missile ship off the Black Sea Fleet launched four Kalibr cruise missiles at military facilities belonging to the Ukrainian

It’s taken ten days for the world to learn if anyone survived the bombing of a theatre in Mariupol. Images filmed from inside the building show people covered in dust, clearly in shock, but alive. Only now have those mobile phone pictures made it to the outside world. On 16 March a theatre sheltering more

Those who’ve made it out alive from the city of Chernihiv in north Ukraine call it “hell” – and fear it’s fast turning into another Mariupol by the advancing Russian troops. We witnessed Chernihiv being brutally cut off – from all humanitarian aid and from the outside world. The city has been bombarded for weeks

It is an unremarkable spot, a large car park in front of a Ukrainian supermarket called Epicentre. Yet it means a lot to the people of Mariupol. In fact, it’s a beacon of light in the spring sunshine, marking the end of a horrific ordeal for tens of thousands of people. “Not just a parking

A summit of NATO leaders in Brussels was meant as a show of unity against Russian President Vladimir Putin and of unwavering support for Ukraine. But the 30-member alliance is performing a hugely difficult balancing act in an evolving response to Russia‘s war with its neighbour. Allies needed to help the Ukrainian armed forces defend

Britain and its Western allies will increase the economic pressure on Russia and are looking to see if more can be done to “shorten” the war in Ukraine such as preventing President Vladimir Putin from accessing his gold reserves, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. Speaking ahead of a NATO meeting in Brussels, he said

As the US president left the White House for Europe he had a stark answer for one of so many troubling questions. “How concerned are you about the threat of chemical warfare right now?” “I think it’s a real threat”, the president replied. NATO issues nuclear war warning to Moscow – live updates Despite denying

Some 100,000 people are stuck in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol with no food or water, Ukraine’s president has said. In a speech overnight, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “As of today, there are about 100,000 people in the city, in inhumane conditions, in a complete blockade. “No food, no water, no medicine. “Under constant shelling, under

Investigators looking into the China Eastern Airlines crash face a “very high level” of difficulty due to the severe damage to the aircraft, an official has said. Authorities do not have a clear assessment of the cause of Monday’s crash, said Zhu Tao, director of aviation safety at the Civil Aviation Administration of China. He

Russian forces attempting to encircle Kyiv have partially occupied three north-western suburbs, as Ukrainian forces continued to defend the besieged city of Mariupol. The Ukrainian army said in the early hours of Tuesday that it had forced Russian troops out of Makariv – a strategically important Kyiv suburb – after a fierce battle, retaking control

Russian troops appear to have opened fire on a peaceful demonstration in Kherson, with CCTV footage showing protesters fleeing as military vehicles advance. The southern port city was seized early on in the nearly month-long war and Moscow claims it controls the Kherson region. Journalist Max Seddon from the Financial Times tweeted: “Russian troops opened

A deadline for Ukrainians to surrender Mariupol to the Russians has passed, with Ukraine refusing to give up the city. On Sunday, Russia said that Ukrainians could put down their weapons and raise white flags on Monday in exchange for safe passage out. Two corridors would be allowed out of the port city, heading east