Matt Steinglass, our Europe editor, identifies the continent’s Spartans

   Vladimir Putin looks poised for a huge wave of forced inductions

   His diesel deal with Russia may prove as illusory as his energy ceasefire

   A parliamentary fight over hemlines shows the battle of the sexes is still on

   As the country stamps out its national heritage, its neighbour’s propaganda is taking over

   Elections will sap what little resolve the continent has to make tough decisions

   Its former chief is accused of passing on classified information to foreign agents

   French pupils are angry and the country is tense

   Spain’s Socialist party hopes to hold on to power but the right leads the polls

   Russian secrecy means it is unclear how grave the threat is

   A bold joint letter suggests confrontation looms with China

   Alex Turner, our defence editor, examines how a Ukrainian counter-offensive is faring

   Spain’s prime minister makes a last stand for the European left

   Six months from an election, the mood is tense

   And petty squabbling always wins

   At least until the next ice age

   Political risk brings economic pain

   A Russian terror campaign aims to cripple the capital even before winter hits

   Three big reasons explain the New Right’s hostility to Europeans

   The EU considers putting an Irish alumina refiner on its sanctions list

   Populism isn’t just for right-wingers

   The country’s low overdose rate suggests an unlikely benefactor

   Azerbaijan exacts a ransom for detained French nationals

   Get ready for a ban on mini-sachets of ketchup, and much more

   He cannot recover, but no one wants to finish him off yet

   The Europeans will have to start fighting back

   Stanley Pignal, our Charlemagne columnist, explores what EU associate membership would actually mean for Canada

   German politics is fragmenting, fraying and radicalising

   An ideal target gets a free pass from the demagogues

   If the European Court on Human Rights persists, the Turks may quit the human-rights convention

   A late surge by the ruling Social Democrats in an eastern state could slow the far right’s momentum

   The parliamentary vote may be followed by a bigger mobilisation for war

   Seven months out, presidential candidates are lacklustre and there are too many of them

   Russia’s drones and missiles are battering the railway system, writes Adam Roberts, our foreign editor

   A modest loss for the hard-right Sweden Democrats

   The tight contest may not go as the populist-right Sweden Democrats hoped

   Soviet-style educational propaganda is back

   Foreign affairs, domestic rows

   Spain’s PM is failing to deport or process thousands of migrants from Morocco

   After the Saxony-Anhalt result, Friedrich Merz is on the ropes

   With Europe’s help, the country can limit the pounding but not eliminate it

   But the hard-right could still fall short of forming a government in Saxony-Anhalt

   The French-size problem at the heart of the EU

   His father was loved by royalists and republicans alike

   EU members, especially France, may be in no mood for enlargement

   It is reinforcing fast, but perhaps not fast enough

   If it wins its first state, ideology in schools and broadcasting is just the start

   His refusal to back down is rooted in Russia’s gangster politics

   A no vote on joining the EU was more about fish than geopolitics

   Richard Cockett, a senior editor, looks back at the remarkable history of animals in warfare