Forget last week's Nato summit, where Donald Trump put the alliance through another rollercoaster. It's Bastille Day in Paris, with the “Coalition of the willing” – Nato minus the United States – gathering for a more measured summit on the eve of the traditional military parade down the Champs-Élysées, where aircraft from Germany, Ukraine, the UK, Sweden and Greece will join the flypast.
Beyond the pageantry and the photo opportunities, however, lies the hard reality of doing more without Washington's military and financial muscle. For what could be Keir Starmer's last summit as British prime minister, the UK has signed up to a €60bn EU defence loan scheme, Germany has pledged €90 million to help build Ukrainian long-range drones, and Ukraine itself has the wind in its sails. Its long-range strikes are forcing fuel shortages in Russia, yet it remains unable to stop ballistic missiles from killing civilians or prevent Russian forces from inching forward in the Donbas industrial heartland.
As Moscow continues to feed the meat grinder on a brutal frontline, how do Europeans prepare for what comes next?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Piera Rocco, Andrew Hilliar.
