The Russian assault on the last defenders at Mariupol’s steelworks will continue to hold back its plans to control the Donbas region, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. It is estimated around 2,000 Ukrainian fighters are underneath the Azovstal plant – the last pocket of resistance in a city almost completely destroyed. A few
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From the most dangerous areas around Kharkiv there is an almost constant exodus of people fleeing homes they cannot be sure they will ever see again. Oleg Koval, 43, and his wife Yulia, 23, stayed behind to help those in need. At first, they were just giving their friends a lift away from danger, but
A British man who joined a controversial Ukrainian military unit says he is willing is spend the next year defending against Russia’s invasion – and he has not been deterred by the capture of other Britons. Mark Ayres has spent the past two months in Ukraine after joining the Azov Regiment, which has far-right origins
The European Union has announced plans to ban Russian oil by the end of the year as part of a sixth package of sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the bloc’s parliament in Strasbourg that member states should cease to buy oil supplies within six
Russian forces have begun storming the steel mill containing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. The takeover began after evacuations from the bombed-out plant saw scores of Ukrainian survivors finally reaching safety following long days and nights holed up inside under constant shelling. One woman said the assault began “as soon as we were
Russian forces have begun storming the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol – as survivors reached safety and began to tell their stories. One woman said the assault began “as soon as we were brought out” of the plant in the Ukrainian port city. Another spoke of the “animal fear” she felt when the building she
Ukrainian troops will beat Russia and the country will “be free” from occupation, Boris Johnson has told Ukraine’s parliament – adding that it is a fight of “good versus evil”. The UK prime minister, who has become the first world leader to address Ukrainian MPs since Russia invaded in late February, said Ukraine had proven
The Ukrainian president’s top aide says he does not believe Moscow will launch a nuclear strike against his country because Russia’s decision-makers know they could end up dying in a global, nuclear war. Andriy Yermak also told Sky News he hoped Ukraine would “soon” defeat Russia’s invading forces and secure victory. Mr Yermak paid tribute
A long-awaited operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol is finally under way. Sviatoslav Palamar, the deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, said “a ceasefire has finally happened”. He said he hoped the evacuations from the steelworks continue until everyone in the plant, civilians and soldiers,
The last time Tetiana Popovych spoke to her son was on the first of March. Vlad Popovych, 29, had been sheltering in the basement of a school in his village just outside Kyiv as Russian forces advanced. “He told me, ‘Mum don’t come here. Something awful is starting. This is not like in the movies.
The United Nations is working to broker a civilian evacuation from the last defensive stronghold in the port city of Mariupol, as resistance in a steelworks continues to hold out. Ukrainian forces were fighting village by village to hold back a Russian advance through the country’s east on Saturday. About 100,000 civilians are still in
The contractions started after she learnt her husband, a Ukrainian border guard, had been killed by a Russian sniper. Viktoria Nazarenko, 34, gave birth to twin boys the next day. Joy overwhelmed by grief at the loss of Sergeant Bogdan Nazarenko, their father. Image: The last known photo taken of Sergeant Bogdan Nazarenko, killed by
Russia is attempting to “empty” the Donbas of people and peace talks are in danger of collapsing, Ukraine’s president has claimed. Speaking in his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of carrying out “constant brutal bombardments” on buildings and residential areas of the eastern region of his country. He compared the barrage of attacks as
The premier of the British Virgin Islands has been charged in the US with drug trafficking and money laundering crimes. Federal prosecutors in Miami have charged Andrew Alturo Fahie and two others with cocaine trafficking and money laundering conspiracies, the US Justice Department has said. On Friday, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss confirmed Fahie had
Ukraine’s prosecutor has accused 10 Russian soldiers of atrocities in the town of Bucha, where evidence of mass killings was uncovered. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said the 10 soldiers from Russia‘s 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Ground Forces Brigade who occupied the Kyiv suburb were “involved in the torture of peaceful people”. In her post on
The premier of the British Virgin Islands has been arrested on “charges related to drugs trafficking and money laundering”, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said. Andrew Fahie was detained in Miami, Florida. His was held as part of an operation led by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), according to a statement from British Virgin