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 gas pipeline system on the bed of the Baltic Sea – all caused in one day – was “unprecedented”, Nord Stream AG added. The Kremlin said on

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

Mahsa Amini, the young woman whose death in police custody has prompted mass protests in Iran, was “tortured and insulted” before she died, her cousin has said. In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Erfan Mortezaei told Sky News about what happened to his cousin and how she has become the “voice of the anger

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

Protests over mobilisation have taken place in more than a dozen cities across Russia. Police arrested hundreds of people as authorities seek to crack down on dissent over the Ukraine war. Girls as young as 14 years old were among those detained in St Petersburg, reports say, with authorities using stun guns and batons. In

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

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

The foreign secretary has called on countries to reject the “charade” of referenda to be held in Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council, James Cleverly said Vladimir Putin plans to fix the results of votes on becoming parts of Russia. It comes as a prosecutor at the

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

Two of five Britons released after being detained by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have told supporters they got out of the “danger zone….by the skin of our teeth”. In a personal message recorded on their flight home, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner thanked all those who had worked to free them. “We’re now out

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