Russia's Foreign Minister has warned that if the West sends troops to Ukraine, his country's troops will be ready for that war.
It came as French President Emmanuel Macron said he wouldn't rule out sending his troops in to stop the current Russian advance on Kharkiv - Ukraine's second-largest city.
The next week is set to be critical for the struggling Ukrainians.
With the Russians zeroing in on Kharkiv, the frightening chaos of the early days of this war has returned.
Moscow's men were driven out of Kharkiv's villages more than a year ago, but now they're back with a score to settle, and thousands are forced to flee for their lives.
"They're destroying everything they can, it's very dangerous for people to stay in the town now," said one Kharkiv local.
The fighting was only half a kilometre away, they said.
Russian tanks were approaching, firing, and then moving back.
Now, the Kremlin is on the brink of its biggest breakthrough since the war began.
The Russian military is hitting Ukraine's second-biggest city with heavy artillery and trying to cripple Kyiv before much-needed military aid arrives on the battlefield from the US and Europe.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces are outgunned and outnumbered, admitting the Russians are achieving "tactical success".
But who could say what Russia's President Vladimir Putin thinks of his own troops' progress, when he suddenly fired his Defence Minister of 12 years on Wednesday. He's been replaced with a member of the Economics Ministry.
Russia is now spending record amounts of cash on this conflict, and with Ukraine low on men and ammunition, its resolve to defend its freedom could prove greater than its ability to do so.
