The rest of Europe may not be at war, but is it ready for the sacrifices of a wartime economy? The Kremlin shutting the gas tap on Bulgaria and Poland may be but a prelude to a brutally swift transition away from Russian gas and oil. Deals will be dropped, money will be lost.

As violence intensifies on the ground in Ukraine, the diplomatic tension has also ratcheted up a notch. As Russia accuses NATO of waging a proxy war, the UN chief Antonio Guterres is in Moscow, asking for cooperation over humanitarian access to places like Mariupol. Sergei Lavrov says Moscow is "ready to cooperate" with the UN to help civilians, but only a day earlier, he warned that World War III was a real danger.

Five years ago, it was a party. This time it felt more like a town hall reception after a marriage of reason. Two hours after French voters had handed their now 44-year-old president a second term, Emmanuel Macron's acceptance speech was already over and supporters were set to call it an early night beneath the Eiffel Tower. From abroad, many were asking: how can a 15-point margin turn into a sobering affair?

Russia has claimed control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, but President Volodymyr Zelensky says as many as 120,000 civilians remain trapped there, including hundreds in bunkers below the Azovstal steelworks. Is this the shape of things to come in other cities in the Donbas region now targeted by Russia? We put the question to our panel.

Can she erase the memory of her meltdown in 2017? Trailing in the polls, Marine Le Pen has ground to make up when she squares off with Emmanuel Macron in the one and only French presidential election candidates' debate. It's an exercise that matters in a nation that takes its politics seriously. We review what went wrong for the far-right standard-bearer on the night in 2017, whether she has softened her stances – as she claims – and whether the sitting French president can overcome incumbent fatigue or avoid coming across as a know-it-all.

What happened to the Moskva? Russia's flagship cruiser in the Black Sea is out of action. Moscow claims there was a fire on board, while Kyiv is crowing that it was due to a Neptune anti-naval missile. Either way, how will it impact the Kremlin's designs on the entire Ukrainian coast?

When French voters cast their ballots in the April 24 presidential run-off, the result will be watched well beyond our borders. For now, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are serving up opposing visions of France's place on the world stage. He is for ratcheting up concerted EU sanctions against Vladimir Putin, while she is against any oil or gas embargo. The incumbent backs working together on defence, while his far-right rival wants France to quit NATO's integrated military command. Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, who is the right candidate for this moment?

And so begins a mad dash to the finish in the French presidential race. After a surprisingly sluggish start to the campaign, the first round served up the predicted outcome but also its fair share of surprises. The April 24 runoff is incumbent Emmanuel Macron's to lose, say the pollsters. But in a rematch of the 2017 second round, the centrist incumbent has his weaknesses that the far-right's Marine Le Pen astutely exploited in a campaign where she has been out pounding the flesh while Macron has been attending summits.

More evidence is emerging of what happened when towns around Kyiv were under Russian occupation after heavy bombardment. Ukraine's president is warning that there are more shocking revelations to come. The Ukrainian president is warning that the deaths in Bucha could be only the beginning and says he has intelligence that even more civilians have been killed in places like nearby Borodyanka.

Moscow has so far shrugged off hard evidence of summary executions in the liberated Kyiv suburb of Bucha, evidence which continues to mount. As the West dials up sanctions and arms shipments, as Ukraine's president makes his case to the UN Security Council, we gauge the mood in the room. Will blanket denials be enough to keep on board nations big and small who by necessity or principle see it in their interest to give equal air time to the Kremlin?