“We do not have armed forces that could defend themselves in the event of a brutal war of aggression”, i.e. from Russiawarned German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius openly acknowledged the serious problems of the Bundeswehr.

According to Bild, Pistorius, speaking at a meeting of the parliamentary group of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), said that the German armed forces are not able to protect the country or its allies from such an aggressor as the Russian army. at the same time that “we must adapt to this situation.”

According to the newspaper, even senior military officials said they had never heard such a clear statement from the Minister of Defense, noting that the previous leadership tried to hide the desperate situation of the military. For example, Mr. Pistorius’s predecessor, Christine Lambrecht, even tried to hide from the federal parliament reports on the readiness of the armed forces with regard to military equipment, whereas during the Ursula von der Leyen ministry, the relevant reports were classified as a secret, and deputies could only read the data in a special chamber. Bundestag.

The Bundeswehr urgently needs weapons

At a meeting of K.O. Pistorius of the SPD also stated that Germany must fulfill its allied obligations. “We have to start doing them again. We haven’t done this before.” The Bundeswehr “urgently needs weapons, heavy equipment, ammunition, as well as soldiers,” he said, and his position was praised not only by MPs from his party, but also by representatives of the opposition. Christian Democratic Party (CDU) foreign policy chief Norbert Röttgen told Bild: “What Pistorius is saying is the bitter truth, and it is courageous that the Minister of Defense does not embellish it, but speaks about it openly. But he also describes his task as follows: to change the state of affairs and get the political support of his party for this.

The reaction of the head of the Bundeswehr association, Andre Wüstner, was also positive, who also told BILD: “It is impressive how honestly and truthfully the Minister of Defense describes the situation in the Bundeswehr. The military had not experienced such clarity for many years. But it is also clear that the federal government must act now. The situation cannot remain like this.”

^{Source: APE-MEB}