Russia’s defence ministry says its forces have taken control of the salt-mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces captured the town, long the focus of heavy fighting and bombardment, on Thursday evening, the ministry said, according to a state media report on Friday. This would now allow its troops to cut off Ukrainian forces from the nearby, much …

Ukraine has accused Vladimir Putin of invoking a “new state of terror” as the Russian president declared martial law in four annexed regions where Moscow’s troops are losing ground. Mr Putin made the decree in four territories that Russia claims are its own but where it’s struggling to take control as Ukraine regains territory. These regions are Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia …

Britain’s longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II has died “peacefully”, age 96, bringing an end to the Elizabethan era which lasted more than 70 years. Buckingham Palace confirmed the Queen passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday afternoon (local time) after doctors had recommended she remain under medical supervision. “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” the palace …

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has apologised for the behaviour of guests who partied at her house following a rock concert. Images have emerged of two women kissing in what is reportedly the downstairs bathroom of Ms Marin’s official residence in Helsinki. The women are topless and covering their breasts with a “Finland” sign. “The picture is inappropriate and should …

A Russian billionaire suing Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister claims sanctions imposed over the invasion of the Ukraine have caused him severe reputational damage. Steel mogul Alexander Abramov launched legal action against senator Penny Wong after the former government’s April sanctioning of 67 Russian elites and oligarchs over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. His lawyer Ron Merkel QC told the Federal Court …

A 36-year-old man has been arrested and placed in psychiatric care after he smeared the Mona Lisa with cake in a purported protest against artists not focussing enough on “the planet”. The most famous portrait in the world had her cake and ate it too after a man disguised as an elderly woman attempted to smash the painting’s protective glass before smearing the surface with dessert on Sunday. …

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies has warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would have to bolster its defences in the region, including by deploying nuclear weapons. Finland, which shares a 1300-kilometre border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the …

It comes as US and UK defence officials said Russian forces were roughly 30 kilometres outside Kyiv as of Saturday, and that an unspecified number of Russian military sabotage groups had entered the capital. A senior US defence official said Washington estimates that more than 50 per cent of Russia’s combat power arrayed along Ukraine’s borders had entered the country, an …

NATO has announced it will take additional steps to strengthen the alliance’s deterrence and defence after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. The defence alliance will also hold an emergency summit of its 30 member nations on Friday. Russian forces invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday, confirming the worst fears of the West with the biggest attack by …

Australia is comparatively insulated from the direct effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but we have been warned to brace for strategic and economic fallout. Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined leaders from around the world on Thursday, condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “flagrant breach of international law”. Mr Morrison declared that “Russia has chosen war” and followed many …