The proxy war in Ukraine between NATO and Russia has come into sharp focus in recent weeks. French President Macron refused to rule out sending troops to Ukraine, provoking a wide backlash. The German leader, Scholz, claimed that British soldiers are already fighting on the battlefield. Putin warned of nuclear war if NATO troops were sent to Ukraine; his leading critic, Navalny, died in a Russian jail. And a report in The New York Times revealed the CIA's decade-long operation of spy bases along Russia’s border. As the US government is poised to deliver its largest military ‘aid’ package yet to support the Ukrainian war effort, and with European nations ramping up their assistance against the backdrop of an impending European election, the implications for Europe and the world loom large. What do these latest developments mean? Is a direct confrontation between nuclear powers unavoidable, or does the possibility for a negotiated peace still exist? Our panel, including Yanis Varoufakis, Erik Edman and Federico Dolce, investigates.