The German army, Bundeswehr, has recently received a major boost for increased investments after the parliament voted to exempt defense spending from strict debt rules.
A senior general told the BBC that there is an urgent need for more funding, as he believes Russia’s aggression will not stop at Ukraine.
“We are threatened by Russia. We are threatened by Putin. We must do everything we can to stop him,” said General Carsten Breuer.
He warned that NATO must prepare for a possible attack in just four years.
“It’s not about how much time we have; it’s more about how much time Putin gives us to prepare,” said the defense chief. “The sooner we prepare, the better.”
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has deeply altered thinking in Germany. For decades, the German public has been conditioned to reject military power, aware of Germany’s past role as an aggressor in Europe.
“We started two world wars. Even though it’s been 80 years since the end of World War II, the idea that Germans should stay out of conflict is still very much in the DNA of many people,” explains Markus Ziener from the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.
When it came to Russia, Germany adopted a specific approach.
While countries like Poland and the Baltic states warned against becoming too close to Moscow – and increased their defense spending – Berlin, under former Chancellor Angela Merkel, believed in business as usual.
Germany imagined it could democratize Russia through osmosis. But Russia took the money and attacked Ukraine anyway.
The sharp assessment of the state of Germany’s military forces comes in a recent parliamentary report. The Bundeswehr, it concluded, had “very little of everything.” The report’s author, Armed Forces Commissioner Eva Högl, revealed major shortages, ranging from ammunition and soldiers to dilapidated barracks. She estimated the renovation budget at around 67 billion euros.
General Breuer stated that Germany needs an additional 100,000 troops to adequately defend itself and NATO’s eastern flank – a total of 460,000, including reserves. Therefore, he insists that a return to military service is “absolutely” necessary.
