World

Any incursion into Ukraine would result in a “protracted crisis” for Moscow with “far-reaching damage for both Russia and the world”, Boris Johnson and Joe Biden have warned. In a call between the UK prime minister and the US president, the leaders called on Western allies to “remain united”. But they also said there remained

Ukraine has insisted it still wants to be a member of NATO following confusion it might drop its calls in exchange for peace with Russia. Over the weekend, the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK said Kyiv was willing to be “flexible” over its goal to join the military alliance. Its insistence on wanting to be

Russia has more military firepower than Ukraine – covering the land, air and sea. It has 900,000 active military personnel across its forces, compared with Ukraine’s 196,600. It is reflective of a wider military dominance that stems from a Russian defence budget that dwarfs Ukraine’s. The imbalance is greatest at sea, with Russia having 10

Boris Johnson will hold talks with world leaders this week in an attempt to bring Russia “back from the brink” of war, as the Ukraine crisis enters a “critical juncture”. Number 10 warned on Sunday evening that its intelligence “suggests Russia could be a planning an invasion of Ukraine at any moment”, warning of “disastrous

For those in the UK, western Europe and the United States who take comfort in the fact that an escalating crisis with Russia over Ukraine is blissfully far away – think again. Any move by Russian President Vladimir Putin to bomb Kyiv into submission and seize control of the country by force – as could

The defence secretary has warned it is “highly likely” that Vladimir Putin will order an attack on Ukraine, despite ongoing talks to avert a war. Ben Wallace also said there is a “whiff of Munich in the air” – an apparent reference to the agreement that allowed the German annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938,

France has dropped its COVID-19 testing requirement for vaccinated travellers arriving from the UK. The French interior ministry has said that from 12 February, travellers will not need to test as long as they are vaccinated according to European regulations. This applies regardless of where a traveller is coming from. Bonjour, Stéph in place now

Britons are being advised against all travel to Ukraine and those already in the country are being told to leave while they can. The action came as Boris Johnson told world leaders he “feared for the security of Europe” over the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. In a virtual meeting on Friday evening,

The little girl screamed: “My mother is without her head.” Sasha Dyka was only four in May 2017 when a shell exploded next to a house she had been visiting with her mother in the frontline town where they lived in eastern Ukraine. Read more: ‘They haven’t give up but they’re on their knees’ –

Boris Johnson has warned “the stakes are very high” amid ongoing fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, and warned that the next few days are probably the “most dangerous moment”. Holding a news briefing with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the prime minister said it was “time to de-escalate” adding: “We must resist, we

The last foreign secretary to visit Russia was Boris Johnson in 2017. Things weren’t easy then and that was before the Salisbury poisonings. They are a lot harder now. Liz Truss will meet a wily, combative and much more experienced counterpart in Sergei Lavrov – who takes no prisoners. Whether they manage to make any

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is flying to Moscow to meet her Russian counterpart to urge a diplomatic end to the huge build-up of troops around Ukraine. It is the first visit by a UK foreign secretary to the country in more than four years. Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain earlier accused Russia of “behaving like a

Spy planes are conducting missions to track Russian movements, which might include listening to Russian soldiers’ phone calls home, according to one expert. The planes are equipped with devices that allow them to collect signals sent from Russian bases and to intercept communications. Sky News analysis of flight tracking data from a typical day in

China is targeting Uyghurs and critics abroad, pressuring other countries to detain and deport them, an investigation by Sky News has found, with high-ranking Chinese officials even conducting interrogations at “black sites” abroad. Chinese agents and police routinely operate abroad, attempting to identify Uyghurs who have fled China. Some are coerced into spying for the

Six Russian warships are heading for the Black Sea for naval drills amid escalating tension between the West and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. The Russian defence ministry said the exercises were a planned movement of military resources, according to the Interfax news agency. It came hours after Paris said Vladimir Putin had promised not

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned European countries will be drawn into military conflict if Ukraine joins NATO, following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. The Russian leader also warned there would be “no winners” from the ongoing crisis, after meeting with his French counterpart at the Kremlin, for talks he described as useful,

The Falklands are “part of the British family”, according to Liz Truss, after China backed Argentina’s claims over the south Atlantic islands. The foreign secretary wrote on Twitter that “China must respect Falklands’ sovereignty” after Argentina‘s President Alberto Fernandez met with Xi Jinping during the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Chinese and Argentine leaders spoke of

The cells of Herat’s main prison are crammed full. In each of the cells we go into, there are about 40 men laying jammed up against each other on the floor with some on bunk beds around the edges. We’ve been given exclusive access to one of the Taliban’s jails and we’re escorted by the

Singer Lata Mangeshkar, one of India’s biggest cultural icons, has died aged 92. She died of multiple organ failure at a hospital in Mumbai after she was admitted on 11 January with COVID-19, hospital officials said. Born in 1929 in pre-independence India, Mangeshkar began singing in her teens, and in a career spanning 73 years sang

Rescuers have said they are edging nearer to a five-year-old child who has been trapped in a well in Morocco for four days, despite unstable soil affecting their efforts. The child, who has only been identified by his first name Rayan, fell into the well outside his home in the village of Ighran in Morocco’s