World

The Kremlin’s threats of retaliation are a bluff, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed, with his country’s forces now said to be in control of 90 settlements in the Russian border region of Kursk. The Ukrainian president told a gathering of diplomats that troops have gained over 1,250 square kilometres in Russia since the surprise
China and the Philippines have blamed each other after a collision between their coastguard ships, in a new flashpoint between the countries. The confrontation in the South China Sea happened near Sabina Shoal, a disputed area in the Spratly Islands where overlapping claims are also made by Vietnam and Taiwan. Officials from the Philippines accused
Russia has used a thermobaric bomb against Ukrainian forces as it announced a “counter-terrorism” operation to retaliate against Ukraine’s shock incursion into Kursk. The Russian defence ministry said fighting was continuing in the western Kursk region following Ukraine’s unprecedented attack on its territory earlier this week. The Russian army has conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces,