World

Asylum seekers have warned they are willing to go into hiding to avoid being sent to Rwanda for processing. As word spreads about the scheme in the days since it launched, legal advisers told Sky News that people are trying to withdraw their asylum applications. Geeth Kulasegaram said people were panicking and scared and that

The French election is finely balanced. With the polls showing the race for the presidency much closer than in 2017, and the gap just larger than the margin for error, it is still possible that either the incumbent Emmanuel Macron, or his contender in the run-off Marine Le Pen could win. While it is too

When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of 24 February, the first foreign leader Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called was Britain’s Boris Johnson. Asked why the UK prime minister was number one on the list, the president’s top security official told Sky News: “They are friends. Britain is our friend.” Oleksiy

Russian forces will seize the strategically important Ukrainian port city of Mariupol today, a top ally of Vladimir Putin has claimed after Ukraine warned its forces are unable to “hold out for much longer”. The besieged southern city has been a key target for Russia since the war in Ukraine began almost two months ago.

Ukrainian forces are continuing to repel attacks by Russian forces in the east of the country, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said, as President Zelenskyy renewed calls for more military assistance.  Russia has recently started repositioning and reinforcing its troops in the east of Ukraine after failing to take control of the country’s

There is a ripple of excitement, a push from the crowd and then a cacophony of cheers. Marine Le Pen, smiling and waving, has arrived in town.  She is surrounded by a blend of well-wishers, reporters, security officers, curious shoppers, and flunkies. Slowly, she walks down the road of this Normandy town, normally a quiet

The world must brace itself for an economic slowdown, a burst in inflation and a potential wave of social unrest as energy and food prices rise to intolerable levels, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned in its first assessment of the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. The IMF said that Ukraine’s economy would contract

Russia has started its expected major new offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Zelenskyy has said. “The Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time,” Ukraine’s leader said in a video address on Monday night. “A significant part of the entire Russian army is now

Two British fighters captured by Moscow’s forces in Ukraine have appeared on Russian state TV and asked to be exchanged for a pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. It was unclear how freely the two men – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin – were able to talk. Both spoke separately afterbeing prompted by an unidentified man in

We’d only been out with the police for a few minutes. The thud was distant. But close enough to abort the patrol. “Turn around, turn around…” Lieutenant Colonel Sasha Malysh said. “It’s shelling.” Then the police radio crackled. “Attention to all patrols… go to the shelter.” Pope condemns ‘Easter of war’ as Kharkiv hit by

Russia has demanded the surrender of the last remaining Ukrainian troops in Mariupol, with the city on the brink of falling. Moscow claimed it would spare the lives of the troops holding out in a blockaded steelworks plant – but only if they surrendered by 11am GMT. Earlier, Russia said it had cleared the urban

The Kremlin has banned Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Ben Wallace and 10 other UK politicians from entering Russia. The Russian foreign ministry said the action was taken “in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the British government, in particular the imposition of sanctions against senior Russian officials”. The list will be expanded soon, according

The sinking of the Moskva missile cruiser means that the crucial city of Odesa is now a bit safer, and any Russian attack on the port would be harder. The loss of the Russian ship has dominated news stories about the war in the last day or so, and has raised questions about what it

A Russian warship which was allegedly attacked by Ukraine has sunk, according to state-owned media. The missile cruiser Moskva is the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet and sank as it was towed back to a port during bad weather after an explosion and fire, according to reports. Earlier, Russia’s defence ministry said the Soviet-era

Ukraine’s president says his military is “tormenting” Russian forces and their success in holding off invading troops has been “historically significant”. Ukraine landed a symbolic blow on Russia by sinking its Moskva missile cruiser on Thursday – a victory which has led to retaliatory strikes on Kyiv. And while Kharkiv and eastern parts of the

Russia has said there will be “no more talk of a nuclear–free Baltic” if Sweden and Finland join NATO. Such a development would more than double the length of the military alliance’s land borders with Russia, Moscow added. Sweden and Finland are reviewing their security arrangements following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Polls in both

Russia has admitted that the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet – the Moskva – was in flames on Thursday, with Ukraine claiming to have hit it with missiles. Russia’s defence ministry said the Moskva missile cruiser had been badly damaged after ammunition on board was blown up by the fire. In comments reported by

“We call on everyone who supports the actions of our president and the Russian army to join in creating and distributing truthful content!” This call to arms by a Russian website appears to be successfully recruiting ordinary Russians – 28,000 of them according to research by Sky News – to take part in the information

One image dominates Ukrainian news sites this morning. The photograph of a dishevelled, handcuffed man in his 60s wearing army camouflage was posted on Instagram by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last night. His name is Viktor Medvedchuk, he’s a central character in the story of Ukraine’s recent political history and he’s never been seen like

US President Joe Biden has described Russia’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide” and says Vladimir Putin is trying to “wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian”. In a speech to voters in Iowa about rising fuel prices, Mr Biden said: “Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of