Speaking to TVP World, Francis was critical that more had not been done to expedite Ukraine’s membership of NATO, and noted the reluctance to set a definitive timeline for Ukraine’s membership. Nonetheless, Francis called the summit “monumentally important” for President Zelenskyy’s country.

Regarding the political uncertainty in America, and the looming prospect of a Trump presidency, Francis spoke of efforts to “Trump-proof” NATO. “Europeans need to get into gear,” she said, “all the European countries have to follow the example of Poland. They need to start spending more, building up armed forces, civil defense, fortifying their boundaries and their national security in many other ways.”

She added: “That’s the formula. And they’ve got to do that.”

Pressed on President Biden’s performance - and his high-profile clangers - Francis deemed it “passable but not presidential”, predicting a power struggle in the Democrats.

Nonetheless, Francis did see cause for optimism, praising the amount of military aid that has been promised to Ukraine: “It looks to me that Ukraine has enough money militarily to put up a really good fight, and possibly even launch a counter offensive in the next year or two.”

She also spoke of the importance of Europe maintaining a unified stance against Russia and taking the front seat from America. “The United States is happy to be involved, but this cannot be an American-led war from now on; whether Trump wins or loses, this has got to be European led, and it's got to be European financed, because, after all, they're the next victim.”