German defence minister says his country cannot protect itself in war

Original article here.

Berlin: German army is not capable of protecting the country against any offensive, said Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. He further alleged that the Bundeswehr is understaffed and under-equipped after being left neglected from the federal government for decades.

“We have no armed forces that are capable of defending [Germany] that is, capable of defending [it] against an offensive, brutally waged aggressive war,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said during a meeting with fellow members of the Social Democratic Party.

Germany should invest more in its military

The minister claimed that the German army is understaffed and does not have adequate equipment as it has been neglected from the federal government for decades.

He said Germany will have to increase its investment in its military in order to be up to NATO standards.

Last week, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, the commander and highest ranking officer of the German army, said the 100 billion euro previously promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz would not be enough to make the country’s armed forces battle ready.

“The army that I have the duty to lead is more or less bare,” a report by press agency DPA quoted Mais saying.

Pistorius’ remark came within hours after chairman of German Armed Forces Association, Colonel Andre Wustner, in an interview to Bild claimed that only 30 per cent of approximately 300 Leopard 2 tanks in Germany’s stock are currently operational.

Despite a worrisome state of defence at home, Germany has been providing extensive assistance to war-torn Ukraine as it fights against Russian invasion for over a year now.

The German government has transferred two state-of-the-art air defence systems to Ukraine that were meant to protect Berlin, said CEO of Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, to Pioneer podcast on Tuesday.

For the unversed, Rheinmetall in Germany’s top military contractor.

Germany sending weapons to Ukraine have been facing criticism and protests. On Saturday, Die Linke (Left Party in Germany) organised a rally calling Chancellor Olaf Scholz to restrict supplying arms to Kyiv.