2026-02-28
43 分钟The Economist.
Last year, my colleague Katie Bryant was visiting her partner's family in Lithuania.
In the kitchen, she found a pamphlet.
Every household in the country has received one.
On its cover, a cartoon of a nuclear family: mom, dad, two kids on their laps.
Big bold lettering: "If war or crisis comes, what should I do?"
It's filled with practical advice about first-aid kits and stockpiling food and having an emergency plan and so on.
But it's the introduction that's revealing.
As our long history and current events in the world have shown,
security and independence need to be constantly defended and strengthened.
It goes on to talk about how to survive the first three days
until public authorities restore essential services or provide the necessary assistance.
What's hinted at here is made concrete later when it mentions occupying forces.
For Lithuania and the other NATO member Baltic states,
for the alliance's chief, Mark Rutte, there's only one force causing concern.
Conflict is at our door.
Russia has brought war back to Europe.
And we must be prepared for the skill of war, our grandparents and great-grandparents endured.
I'm Jason Palmer and this is The Weekend Intelligence.
NATO is already a bigger club because of the war in Ukraine.