German defence minister warns Ukraine war could expand

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has warned the war between Russia and Ukraine could expand beyond neighbouring countries.

“We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day, most recently against our friends in the Baltic states,’’ Pistorius told the Tagesspiegel newspaper in an article published on Friday.

With regard to the Bundeswehr, the minister emphasised: “we must quickly strengthen our defence capabilities in light of the urgency of the threat situation.

“So we have to take into account that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin might even attack a NATO country one day,’’ Pistorius added, who has been in office for a year this Friday.

However, if it were to happen, he said it would happen between “five to eight years’’ from now.

With his call for the Bundeswehr to become “war-ready, he also wanted to shake up our society,’’ he said.

The minister expects proposals for re-introducing a version of compulsory military service by April.

Germany ended mandatory conscription in 2011.

The minister would also be open to opening up the armed forces to soldiers without a German passport.

The defence industry also needed to be made more efficient, according to Pistorius.

He spoke in favour of reforming the debt brake for security reasons.

“With a debt break in this form, we will not get through these crises unscathed,’’ he said.

Pistorius also rejected calls for more German military aid for Ukraine, saying the Bundeswehr could not go all in and leave Germany defenceless.

 

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