With every hour that Kiev holds out, the geopolitics of Europe changes more. Germany, which so values its prohibition on sending weapons into warzones, has just announced that it is sending 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to support the Ukrainian forces.

Germany is also allowing other Nato members to export arms with German-made parts to Ukraine — which will make a material difference to the supplies that the Ukrainian government receives. Yesterday evening, it was announced that Russian banks are going to be cut off from Swift. The EU seems to have realised how unsustainable their position was when contrasted with the bravery of the Ukrainians, exemplified by President Zelensky’s refusal to be evacuated.

As Fraser Nelson said in the Telegraph on Friday, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a 9/11 moment for Europe; forcing countries to face up to the continent as it is rather than how they want it to be. I expect that defence spending will rise considerably in the coming years and that there’ll be a long overdue effort to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas.

We do not know what tonight and the coming days will bring for Kiev. But if the Russians attempt to take the city in the way that they did Grozny in 1999 — with bombings and potentially very high civilian casualties — the bravery of war correspondents, modern communications and social media mean that it will be seen by the world. One can only image that would further strengthen the West’s resolve.

Europe is waking up to the danger that Putin poses to its fundamental values and is beginning to steel itself against him. It has undoubtedly taken too long, but it is happening now and European geopolitics have been changed for good.