MORE: Arguments that NATO runs the risk of “war enthusiasm” and inducing a Russian attack by preparing for its own defense mistakenly accept the Kremlin’s framing that Russia was or will be provoked into illegally invading its neighbors. Pragmatic responses to Russian threats — such as shooting down Russian drones in NATO airspace, increasing NATO’s conventional presence in frontline states, or hardening critical infrastructure against the threat of Russian strikes or sabotage — are not escalatory actions by NATO, no matter how often the Kremlin frames them that way. They are necessary and justified responses to Russian threats and attacks. Preparing better defenses against and responding appropriately to escalating attacks is not escalation; it is prudence. Concerns expressed by some policymakers in frontline NATO states that they do not want to overly alarm their populations or drive away economic investment by moving to a war footing or publicly discussing Russian threats are understandable on the surface but impede necessary efforts. Europe may not need alarmed populations, but it needs informed populations and certainly does need alarmed governments.