NATO held a summit in Washington, marking its 75th anniversary. The main topic of discussion was support for Ukraine. The country is unlikely to be admitted as a NATO member soon. But “Make no mistake,” Joe Biden said, “Ukraine can and will stop Putin.” America, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania announced that they would provide five extra air-defence systems, including the Patriot system, to Ukraine. The summit started the day after Russia carried out its biggest wave of attacks in months, and struck a children’s hospital in Kyiv. At least 41 people were killed across Ukraine and 170 injured.

Mr Biden used the summit to try to put to rest questions about his mental acuity and ability to lead. Calls grew among some Democrats for the president to withdraw from the election. But other senior Democrats, including Chuck Schumer, in public at least, forcefully supported Mr Biden during party meetings in Congress. Mr Biden earlier insisted that “I am running and I am going to win again.”