FOR MOST of the past 800 years, the sight of German soldiers inspired dread in(在……心中激起恐惧) Lithuanian hearts. Today, as a small Baltic state with Russia as a direct neighbour, Lithuania is happy to host a permanently deployed German armoured brigade(旅（军事单位）).
过去800年的大部分时间里，立陶宛人一看到德国士兵就心生恐惧。如今，作为一个与俄罗斯直接接壤的波罗的海小国，立陶宛却乐于接纳一支永久驻扎的德国装甲旅。
The aggression of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and the might-makes-right(强权即公理) callousness(冷酷无情) of his American counterpart, Donald Trump, have not only scrambled(打乱，扰乱) Europe’s calculations about power, but also the continent’s balance of fear(恐惧平衡). In 2029 Germany, Europe’s largest country, plans to spend 3.5% of GDP, or€162bn ($182bn), on defence. That is more than the combined defence spending of Britain and France last year. Far from being alarmed by German rearmament(重整军备), many neighbours are counting on(指望，依靠) it.
俄罗斯总统普京的侵略行径，以及其美国同行特朗普那种强权即公理的冷酷态度，不仅打乱了欧洲对权力格局的盘算，也改变了欧洲大陆的恐惧平衡。2029年，欧洲最大国家德国计划将GDP的3.5%（约1620亿欧元，合1820亿美元）用于国防，超过英法两国去年的国防开支总和。许多邻国非但没有对德国重整军备感到警觉，反而指望它。
Put bluntly(直白地说), after decades of underinvestment(投资不足) in defence, mainstream European leaders have a horror of(极度害怕) being abandoned by America before the region is strong enough to deter(威慑，阻止) Russia on its own. Their fears mounted after Mr Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They turned to near-panic after Mr Trump was re-elected in 2024, and he made clear his scorn(蔑视，鄙视) for Ukraine and its allies in NATO and the European Union, and his preference for ending the Ukrainian war on terms favourable to(以有利于……的条件) Russia.
直白地说，在国防领域投资不足数十年之后，欧洲主流领导人极度害怕在美国抛弃他们时，欧洲还不足以凭自身力量威慑俄罗斯。2022年普京全面入侵乌克兰后，他们的恐惧加剧。2024年特朗普再次当选后，他们几乎陷入恐慌，因为特朗普明确表达了对乌克兰及其北约和欧盟盟友的蔑视，并倾向于以有利于俄罗斯的条件结束乌克兰战争。