It was a big moment for a Polish foreign minister to declare in 2011 that he was “not so much afraid of German power; it’s German inactivity I’m starting to fear.” Radoslaw Sikorski’s words related to the eurozone crisis, but until days ago they might also have referred to Berlin’s seeming reluctance to impose serious penalties over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Germany’s weekend announcements that it would supply weapons to Kyiv — reversing its refusal to export arms to conflict zones — and sharply increase defence spending have overturned decades-old security and foreign policy doctrines. They are the most dramatic sign yet of how Vladimir Putin’s aggression is reshaping assumptions across Europe.
2011年，波兰外交部长宣布他“并不那么害怕德国的力量；我开始担心的是德国的不作为”，这是一个重大时刻。拉多斯拉夫•西科尔斯基(Radoslaw Sikorski)的这番言论与欧元区危机有关，但就在几天前，这些言论或许还可以用来说柏林方面似乎不愿对俄罗斯入侵乌克兰实施严厉惩罚。德国在上周末宣布，它将向乌克兰提供武器——这改变了德国拒绝向冲突地区出口武器的立场——并大幅增加国防开支。德国的这些表态颠覆了数十年来的安全和外交政策原则。这是迄今为止最引人注目的迹象，表明弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)的侵略正在如何重塑整个欧洲的假设。