“The Russian army increases its number of tanks by 1,000 to 1,500 additional units every year. The five largest European NATO member states together have just half of that in their inventory,” said Germany’s chief of defence Carsten Breuer.
Scholz’s coalition has faced criticism over the small increase in the 2025 budget for defence. “In 2017, we still spent €37 billion ($42 billion) on defence. Now, with the use of the special fund, the Bundeswehr‘s budget is €75 billion. That’s more or less a doubling,” Scholz said.
The U.S. and German governments announced plans for the deployment of U.S. missile systems that could reach Russia. These include nuclear-capable Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 2,500 kilometres, SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles and newly-developed hypersonic missiles.
Deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said that Orbán could travel wherever he wanted, adding, “What is not acceptable is that he travels through the world with the impression that he is doing so on behalf of others. And there will certainly be further discussion about how to deal with this.”
Economic researchers and partners in the ruling coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz have warned of immense economic costs and legal difficulties that could result from plans for military conscription proposed by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in June in an attempt to boost the numbers of the German armed forces.
Russia has criticized the planned stationing of long-range US weapons in Germany as a return to the Cold War, after German leaders said the step was necessary due to the increased threat posed by Russia to European security. “We are well on the way to a Cold War. This has all happened before,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
The latest round of military aid worth USD 150 million is the Biden administration’s 60th tranche of aid since August 2021, including artillery and ammunition from its own inventories, in addition to purchases of air defence systems worth USD 2.2 billion for Ukraine.
The Pentagon said last week the U.S. will indefinitely postpone a military exercise in Georgia ‘due to the Georgian government’s false accusations against the United States and other western entities, to pressure Georgia to open a second front against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine, and of participating in two coup attempts against the ruling party.’
German military spending is set to increase by only EUR 1.2 billion (USD 1.3 billion) under the terms of the preliminary 2025 national budget agreed on Friday, far below the demands of Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
Germany has delivered a third Patriot air-defence system to Ukraine, authorities said on Friday. Kiev received its first modern US-made Patriot system in April 2023 and now has four.
“Yes, I give this guarantee,” Scholz said in response to a question in the Bundestag parliament on Wednesday, echoing comments he had made before. “That’s what I stand for as chancellor.”
Between January 01, 2024 and June 18, 2024, the German government approved a total of weapons exports worth at least EUR 7.48 billion (USD 8.01 billion), up 30 percent from the first half of last year, with some 65 percent of the exports, worth EUR 4.88 billion, destined for Ukraine.
A new NATO overview says the record €90.6B on defence expenditure, to which Berlin committed for the first time this year, corresponds to a 2.12 percent share of the forecast German GDP, and is higher than expected at the beginning of the year.
400,000 people will have to complete a questionnaire each year, and some 40,000 candidates could then take part in the physical mandatory physical check-up call-up. Pistorius stressed that he anticipates only summoning those who indicate a voluntary interest.
NATO allies are planning to launch a new project in support of Kiev, dubbed “NATO Mission Ukraine“, at their next summit in Washington. The German government is reportedly concerned that designating the project a mission could be understood as NATO planning to send troops to Ukraine, and prefers the name, “Pledge Assistance Coordination Training” – or “PACT“.
