We have a name! This podcast will from now on be called ‘Round the Globe with John and Claire. We like it because it’s simple and it says what it’s about. From now on you’ll receive ‘Round the Globe with John and Claire every weekday. It’s a bonus, not a substitute for any of the other things we do. We’d love it if you subscribed: What’s your verdict so far? How can we improve it? The show notes are interleaved among the other articles, below. I’ve appended GLOBAL EYES to the podcast because these items are related to what we discuss. “We are surely approaching a moment for Europe in which it will be necessary not to be cowards.” —Emmanuel Macron, March 5, during a visit to the Czech Republic The situation along the front in Ukraine is absolutely critical, with Russia bearing down on the front with its mass in several directions, said the chair of Estonia’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Marko Mihkelson, after a visit to the front: “I’ve been here for three days, and moved around along the entire front together with volunteers; I’ve met with troops and officers from around a dozen different fighting brigades, from Kupiansk to Lyman, Bakhmut and the Avdiivka region, and currently I’m on the southern front toward Orikhiv. … In each of these directions, Russian forces now have absolutely massive initiative, massive firepower and massive manpower, which is pushing the Ukrainian front in all of these directions, both to the east and the south … Everyone I’ve spoken to has the message that they’re catastrophically short on artillery shells as well as quite a lot of other equipment. And Russia’s quantitative force is what's currently very troubling on the front.” According to the Estonian committee chair, many people are very angry about what’s currently being said in Europe and the US. “They can see that the West doesn’t comprehend the current extremely critical situation in this war, where what’s needed is actions, not words … This morning, in one part of the southern front right here, there was such a barrage of Russian artillery fire from 5-8 am that there wasn’t even a second of silence. … Along one part of the front, Russians have a 100:1 advantage in artillery fire. In a situation like that, it’s easy to understand why the Ukrainians are questioning what Western powers want to achieve.” The MP also noted that despite the incredibly difficult situation, Ukrainian morale still remains high. Commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent statement about how the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out, Mihkelson described Macron’s words as ill-considered rhetoric. “Talk regarding whether to send ground troops to Ukraine should first and foremost be worked out among ourselves, and not argued publicly,” he said. “This isn't exactly the best rhetoric at a time when Ukraine needs actual military support in order to curb Russian pressure.” (This is the only video I could find with English subtitles. It should search to the important part automatically.) Blast from the Past: Remember this? Macron’s behavior toward Putin had been so delusional, for so long, that in 2002 I wrote this article: …. He has spent the past five years trying to draw Russia into his embrace, evidence be damned. Apart from Germany, the rest of Europe—the Baltic states and Ukraine, in particular—have viewed Macron as a preening, Putin-loving nincompoop, at best; an outright menace to European security and NATO’s integrity at worst. Leaked files reveal Russian military’s criteria for nuclear strike. (The article I mentioned to John.) Macron tells party leaders France’s support to Ukraine has “no limits.” French President Emmanuel Macron met with leaders of the opposition to discuss the war in Ukraine. He has suggested that Ukraine’s allies should not rule out sending troops. Macron urges Ukraine’s allies not to be “cowardly.”