3 h. ago King gives rare insight into at Queen Elizabeth’s VE Day celebrations as he echoes grandfather’s 1945 speech

King Charles III remembered Queen Elizabeth II's lively VE Day celebrations — including joining a conga line — in 1945 as he delivered a speech exactly 80 years after his grandfather's historic address.

Politics

7 h. ago By VE Day in 1945, Stalin had got what he wanted in Poland – now Putin may get what he wants in Ukraine

In 1945, a Polish soldier wrote of the Yalta agreement that left Poland behind the Iron Curtain: ‘This business smells and no high-sounding words can disguise the stench of a bad deed.’ Something similar could be said of Trump’s position on Ukraine

Politics

8 h. ago Ukraine brands Vladimir Putin's Victory Day ceasefire a 'farce' as Russian forces 'breach it 700 times'

Kyiv has accused Moscow of violating the three-day ceasefire more than 700 times in its first 12 hours

Politics

9 h. ago How the war in Ukraine reduced Putin’s ‘Victory Day’ military parade to a shadow of its former self

In both 2023 and 2024, there was only one tank on display, a Soviet-era T-34

Events

13 h. ago Putin to rival Eurovision with Russia's own song contest after Ukraine war ban

Russia was banned from entering the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine, but it seems Vladimir Putin doesn't want the country to miss out on the fun

Politics

13 h. ago How did London celebrate VE Day and the end of the Second World War in 1945?

Today will see military parades, tea parties, and church services, but how did Londoners celebrate VE Day in 1945?

Events

15 h. ago VE Day: Starmer warns of Second World War parallels with 'hatred, tyranny and evil' of Putin's Ukraine war

The Prime Minister highlighted that war is raging again in Europe 80 years on since the Nazis were defeated

Events

18 h. ago Relive VE Day as it happened 80 years ago when Britain threw epic party to celebrate Germany's surrender in WWII

LIVE UPDATES: Follow minute by minute details of Britain's VE Day celebrations on May 8, 1945 as the nation celebrated victory over Nazi Germany and the end of the Second World War.

Society

19 h. ago 'As a whole, it was thank God it's over': War veteran aged 101 recalls VE Day 1945

'I think there was a feeling of relief, no doubt about it, because you were thinking that the killing, the dying, is stopping'

Events

20 h. ago How Putin uses the USSR's victory in World War II to rally support for him and the war in Ukraine

Hardly any other country marks the end of World War II with the same fanfare and fervor as Russia, for which the victory over Nazi Germany 80 years ago remains a source of immense pride and a defining moment of history

Politics

20 h. ago From apathy to celebration – how four people lived VE Day in 1945

While some were relishing their first hot meal after five years as PoW, others struggled to rejoice in celebrationsAfter nearly six years of hardship, people poured out on the streets in celebration 80 years ago as the second world war in Europe came to an end. However, for many who lost family and friends, the rejoicing was muted.Here, four people recall their memories and those of their families. Continue reading...

Politics

23 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Period of Putin’s ‘ceasefire’ for Victory Day begins

Kremlin jams internet as it seeks to protect visiting foreign leaders; Ukraine’s SBU says drones hit Russian arms factories. What we know on day 1,170 The period of an unagreed ceasefire called for by Vladimir Putin began on Thursday morning as the Russian president seeks cover for Victory Day events. Ukraine has dismissed it as a “game” designed to protect Putin’s parade rather than a genuine step towards peace. Foreign leaders including China’s Xi Jinping are visiting the Russian capital for Victory Day celebrations. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, has offered a 30-day ceasefire as suggested in US-brokered talks, but the Kremlin has refused.The Kremlin was forced on Wednesday to say it was taking “all necessary measures” to ensure the safety of foreign leaders due to attend its flagship 9 May parade after days of Ukrainian drone attacks closed airports across Russia, disrupting about 350 flights due to carry about 60,000 people. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov sai...

Events

26 h. ago Vladimir Putin declares Ukraine ceasefire as he marks 'Victory Day' in Russia

The Russian President has declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine, after his forces spent the past few days bombarding Ukrainian cities and towns with missiles and drones

Politics

31 h. ago VE Day LIVE as it happened in 1945 when Brits celebrated end of WW2 in Europe

As the country marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, follow our unique live blog to relive the key events and images from the day as it happened hour-by-hour

Politics

33 h. ago Trump claims reinstating Russia for FIFA World Cup could 'incentivize' Putin to end Ukraine war

Vladimir Putin’s country has been banned from international competitions since its illegal invasion of Ukraine three years ago

Politics

34 h. ago ‘The pain, the tears, it’s all there’: how Putin’s war has left Ukraine haunted by its past

For occupied parts of Ukraine, Russia’s war and the propaganda fuelling it has forced many to relive the horrors of previous warsMariia Sinhayevska was 11 when the Germans occupied her village, near Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She can still remember some German words from the year she spent in school under occupation. The soldiers were friendly, she said, though not if you were suspected of being a Communist or a Jew.“There was a place about three kilometres away where people used to say the ground was breathing; it was where the Germans put the bodies of all the people they had shot,” she said. Continue reading...

Politics

34 h. ago How VE Day and Putin’s war are forcing Ukrainians to relive their painful past

As Russia marks 80 years since the second world war with wild celebrations, in Ukraine the tone is very differentMariia Sinhayevska was 11 when the Germans occupied her village, near Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She can still remember some German words from the year she spent in school under occupation. The soldiers were friendly, she said, though not if you were suspected of being a Communist or a Jew.“There was a place about three kilometres away where people used to say the ground was breathing; it was where the Germans put the bodies of all the people they had shot,” she said. Continue reading...

Politics

41 h. ago ‘What the hell’s going on?’: Biden slams Trump for ‘appeasing’ Putin in first interview since leaving office

The former president revealed his thoughts on Trump, Ukraine as well as what it meant to him to leave the presidential race in the summer of 2024

Politics

42 h. ago Hitler conquered British territory then made families live in unimaginable hell

The Channel Islands were the only British territory occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War, and were finally liberated on May 9 1945 - one day after VE Day

Society

46 h. ago North Korean leader urges increased artillery shell production amid alignment with Russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his munitions industry to boost the production of artillery shells, as the country continues to supply arms and troops to support Russia’s war on Ukraine

Politics