World

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone starts with a checkpoint and souvenir wagons. You can buy Chernobyl condoms that glow in the dark, keyrings and t-shirts. “Visit Chernobyl, die later” was the slogan on one. We had to set off early through driving snow from Kyiv, but despite the weather, the drive took little more than a

Boris Johnson will step up his presence in the Russia-Ukraine crisis by holding a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting the region “in the coming days”. The prime minister will “ramp up deterrence to avoid bloodshed” between the two former Soviet states and is determined to “accelerate diplomatic efforts” during the trip, a

The five children are all now orphans – and still very much in shock when we meet them. Their two-roomed home is silent apart from their weeping which is interspersed with stunned silences. Propped up in front of them is a photograph of their mother who was killed in a car bomb a few days

Anastasiia Bezpalko’s most popular TikTok video is a guide on what to pack to be prepared if war breaks out in Ukraine. Filmed in her living room, the 19-year-old runs through how to make the perfect emergency survival bag. The rucksack must be small. Don’t forget your important documents. A first aid kit is essential.

The US has called for the United Nations (UN) Security Council to hold a public meeting to discuss Russia’s “threatening behaviour” against Ukraine. On Thursday, the US ambassador to the UN asked the security council to meet publicly on Monday. Russia has manoeuvred around 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, though Moscow has denied

The mayor of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has told Sky News he is “very worried” about the situation with Russia and expressed concern that the West may not be united in its support of Ukraine. Vitali Klitschko, a previous world heavyweight boxing champion, criticised Germany for supplying Ukraine with 5,000 military helmets while stopping short of

They are taking the latest twists and turns in the diplomatic crisis over Ukraine in their stride here in the country’s capital. Kyiv feels like a city caught in a moment of time, suspended between humdrum normality and the threat of looming conflict. There are thousands of Russian troops just a few hours drive north

Warning: This article contains distressing content. In our first few days in Herat, we’ve met whole families who’ve sold their kidneys so they can eat. In one case, three brothers and their two sisters told us they flogged their organs for around £1,150 a piece to buy food for the rest of the family. We’ve

With a soldier on board, we were given directions to drive off main roads and along snow-covered tracks to a desolate spot and await further instructions.  The soldier’s telephone rang and he was given new orders, turning us around, then taking a sharp right down another track where a car was waiting for us. As

Boris Johnson has said the UK will “contribute” to any new NATO deployments if Russia invades Ukraine. The prime minister also told MPs that Western allies will react “in unison” to any Russian attack on Ukraine by imposing sanctions “heavier than anything we have done before”. He condemned Moscow for sending more than 100,000 troops

The Ukrainian soldiers speak in whispers as they trudge through the snow and mud of their trenches, keeping low as they pass the most exposed sections, past signs warning of sniper activity. Nothing has changed here for years. The daily exchanges with Russian-backed separatists and, what the Ukrainians are certain of, professional Russian soldiers, goes

A lone gunman has shot and injured several people at a lecture theatre in Heidelberg, Germany. Police said the attacker was dead but did not give details of how that happened. The Bild newspaper reported that the shooter opened fire in the lecture hall and turned the gun on himself after wounding several people. Bild

A British man who died in Thailand following an alleged assault has been named as Marcus Evans. The 49-year-old, from Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, was killed in the early hours of Saturday morning in the Kanchanaburi Province in the west of the country. Thai Police were called to a house – thought to belong to

Britain has accused Russia of a shadowy plot to install a pro-Kremlin government in Kyiv as Moscow weighs up a further invasion of Ukraine. In a highly-unusual move that appeared to be based on specially declassified intelligence, the Foreign Office alleged that a former Ukrainian MP was “being considered as a potential candidate” as a

Russia’s defence minister has accepted an invitation to meet his UK counterpart Ben Wallace amid fears that an invasion of Ukraine is “imminent”. The British defence secretary offered earlier this week to hold talks with Sergei Shoigu in London to discuss mutual security concerns, against heightened tensions with the Kremlin over its former Soviet neighbour.

It doesn’t matter that I lived in Russia and experienced its winters for a number of years. It doesn’t matter that I reported on the wintry months of the Ukrainian separatist uprising in 2014 into 2015. Because each time one comes back, the weather is as horrendous and painful as ever. Looking out across miles

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said that any movement of “Russian military forces across Ukraine’s border” will be met with a “swift, severe and united response”. He also warned Moscow’s “extensive playbook of aggression” would also be met with action – following his crunch talks with his counterpart foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, aimed

Austria’s parliament has approved a universal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for adults – the first of its kind in Europe. The mandate will come into force next month, with authorities writing to every household to inform them of the new rules. From mid-March, police will start checking people’s vaccination status during routine checks. Those who cannot

Britain’s armed forces have flown some 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine this week amid fears of an imminent, new Russian invasion. British surveillance aircraft have also been spotted. Open source flight-tracking software has plotted Royal Air Force C-17 transport aircraft flying back and forth between the UK and Ukraine. Sky News understands that “several” flights

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Russia that the world is watching as Moscow continues military manoeuvres involving 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine. After talks with Ukraine’s government in Kyiv, America’s top diplomat said Russia could double that number in short order and launch an attack on its neighbour. Mr Blinken