What is Europe's next move, what with Ukraine's Kharkiv subjected to a daily pounding from the other side of a Russian border that's just 20 kilometres away?
It's in the name of Kharkiv that French President Emmanuel Macron, on a state visit to Germany – with Chancellor Olaf Scholz nodding in agreement – said he would allow French missiles supplied to Ukraine to, as he put it, "neutralise" military targets on Russian soil. That comes on top of talk of French military advisers being sent to the front line.
Vladimir Putin was quick to react on Tuesday, with threats against the West as a whole and what sounds like the Baltic states in particular. With Russian troops now on the offensive and Ukraine desperately waiting for supplies of not just missiles but also ammunition and eventually fighter jets, how close is the day when NATO and Russian troops square off on the battlefield? Eleven days out from European elections, how does public opinion feel about it?
And what of NATO's biggest member? The United States for now refuses to allow its weaponry to strike inside Russian territory. Can the Alliance speak with one voice at this crucial juncture?
Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Louise Guibert.
