World

British and US intelligence says the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is on the ground in Crimea, supporting Russian drone attacks on Ukraine. America’s National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Iran had sent personnel to assist Vladimir Putin‘s troops in launching Iranian-made drones on Ukraine’s power stations and other key infrastructure. This includes members of a

When soldiers in Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanised Brigade do their work, most tasks are performed under trees. It is a simple matter of staying alive. Members of the brigade’s Oril Company stack their munitions under a stand of gnarly-looking trees. Their mortars are hidden in the bushes. Putin’s forces ‘preparing to blow up major dam’ – Ukraine

A missile was released from a Russian aircraft near an unarmed RAF plane on a routine patrol over the Black Sea, the defence secretary has revealed. In a statement updating MPs on the war in Ukraine, Ben Wallace said the incident happened on 29 September and that Russia has acknowledged it took place in international

The Chinese consul-general accused of attacking a protester has denied the claims and said his alleged victim was “abusing my country, my leader”. Senior diplomat Zheng Xiyuan was pictured pulling Bob Chan’s hair before yanking him into the Chinese consulate in Manchester. Mr Zheng told Sky News that it was his “duty” and he was

Kherson residents have been boarding boats in an apparent evacuation as Russia claimed Ukraine is planning a major attack and President Putin declared martial law in four occupied regions. Russian media showed people in the city boarding ferries to cross from the right bank of the Dnipro river to the left. The Moscow-backed head of

There are days in Bakhmut that are more difficult than others – although no day is easy in this battered city.  Once home to 100,000 people, it’s now a military objective for the Russian army, the gateway to key industrial cities in eastern Ukraine. But the city has become a major obstacle for Russian generals,

A preliminary investigation of damage on the two Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea shows the leaks were caused by “powerful explosions”, Copenhagen Police has said. The force added officers investigated the “crime scenes” with assistance from Denmark’s armed forces and in collaboration with the Danish security and intelligence

China has recruited dozens of former British military pilots to teach the Chinese armed forces how to defeat western warplanes and helicopters in a “threat to UK interests”, officials have revealed. One official said some 30 mainly ex-fast jet but also some helicopter pilots – lured by annual salaries of around £240,000 – are currently

Former Russian state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova has fled the country after escaping from house arrest, her lawyer said. Ms Ovsyannikova interrupted a live broadcast in March to protest against the war in Ukraine, holding up a sign which read in English: “No war. Russians against war.” In Russian it read: “NO WAR. Stop the

If this was a “normal” party congress then the speech by President Xi Jinping would have been his swansong. But this is not a normal party congress. The speech instead felt more like a consolidation, an enshrining of sorts, of Xi’s vision, Xi’s path and Xi’s China. The party congress is the most important political event

China will never renounce the right to use force over Taiwan, President Xi Jinping has declared at the opening of a major party meeting. China views democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, but the island’s government has strong objections and believes sovereignty should be claimed by its people. Speaking at the opening of the

Two men opened fire on volunteer troops at a Russian military shooting range near Ukraine, killing 11 and wounding 15 others, the Russian defence ministry has said. The shooting is said to have taken place in the Belgorod region in southwestern Russia, which borders Ukraine. Moscow’s defence ministry said that the two men from an

Vladimir Putin has said he has “no” regrets over the war in Ukraine and warned that any direct clash of NATO troops with Russia could lead to a “global catastrophe”. On Friday, the Russian president spoke at a news conference in the Kazakh capital, Astana, and also said that his country’s partial mobilisation will be

Human rights groups have warned of Iranian security forces’ escalating response to demonstrations in the western province of Kurdistan. Clips from the regional capital Sanandaj appear to show security forces firing weapons in residential neighbourhoods and large groups of anti-riot police moving around the city. The city was one of the first to see demonstrations

The number of babies born in January 2021 dropped compared to previous years due to COVID-19 health concerns. Countries with the strictest lockdowns in early 2020 and over-occupied intensive care units have seen the biggest drops in live births 9-10 months later, according to scientists in Switzerland. Dr Leo Pomar, the first author of the

Deep in the Buloburde bush in the Hiiraan region of central Somalia, there’s a ragtag regiment gathering around a missile launcher. Huddled tightly with their ears pressed against a small black phone, they receive intelligence and feed it back to the troops positioning the launcher. The Ma’awisley militia is made up of farmers turned fighters