German army not fit for war, can’t defend against Russia, report claims

BERLIN

Germany is failing to build sufficient military capacities to deter Russia from further aggression, a new report released on Tuesday warned.

The Kiel Institute’s report said Germany’s defense spending is insufficient, and the military is barely managing to replace the weapons it is sending to Ukraine.

“It would currently take Germany nearly a hundred years to restore the military’s (Bundeswehr) capacity to 2004 levels,” the report said, blaming the government for being “overly slow” in defense procurements.

According to the report, while Germany has remained behind in defense procurements and investments over the last two years, Russia has significantly increased its capacity to manufacture armaments, including advanced combat systems.

“Russia’s manufacturing capacity has grown to the point where it can produce the equivalent of the Bundeswehr's entire arsenal in just over half a year,” the report’s authors stated.

“Russia has made great strides in modern combat systems. Its capacity to produce unmanned drones has increased more than sixfold, and its expertise and arsenal of supersonic and hypersonic missiles pose a major risk to NATO,” they warned.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had promised a €100 billion ($110 billion) special fund to modernize the Bundeswehr, shortly after the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.

His coalition government also increased defense spending to €52 billion this year, but scaled back ambitious plans due to strict budget constraints.

Kiel Institute President Moritz Schularick argued that the slow progress in military procurements and lack of sufficient funding for major defense projects have shown that the coalition government’s pledge was “empty rhetoric.”

“Peace will come when the regime in Moscow understands that it cannot win wars of aggression in Europe militarily. For this, Germany and Europe need credible military capabilities. Germany must have an adequate annual defense budget to at least €100 billion per year,” he said.