Russian forces have launched major missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities for the second week in a row, killing at least five people. The European Commission condemned the strikes as “acts of pure terror” that amounted to war crimes.

Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC, and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss how this escalation by Russia is changing the tenor of the war, the coming winter and morale among Ukrainians, and the backdrop of rising discontent within Russia.

Next, we move to the US midterms which are just weeks away and the polls are close. The team discuss President Joe Biden’s pledge to codify abortion rights if the Democrats win, whether rising inflation and the cost of living are more major concerns for voters, and the Republican candidates who dispute the 2020 election results.

Then in You Ask Us a listener asks if power in the EU is swinging more eastward nowadays, after former eastern bloc countries have been vindicated of their wariness of Russia.

Read more:

Katie writes Vladimir Putin's land grab is an act of desperation.

Ido reports on Iran testing out its deadly weapons on Ukraine.

Emily on everything you should know about the 2022 US midterm elections.

Emily asks will the right-wing Supreme Court hurt Republicans in the US midterm elections?

Emily on why even an abortion scandal might not stop "pro-life" candidate Herschel Walker.

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