Germany needs to increase the number of armed forces by 60,000 soldiers - Pistorius
Kyiv • UNN
The German Defense Minister stated that the country needs to increase its armed forces by 60,000 troops. NATO countries have pledged to increase defense spending.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that his country will need to increase its armed forces by as many as 60,000 troops. This is due to the fact that NATO member states have pledged to increase defense spending in order to deter the military threat from Russia, UNN writes with reference to Bloomberg.
Details
Pistorius said that Germany will take on the second largest burden among the 32 member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as allies agree on a rearmament plan. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth confirmed the US position that allies should spend 5% of GDP on their troops, compared to the current 2%.
The German minister praised Berlin's new commitment to defense spending after lifting debt restrictions on military investment, saying that Europe's largest economy will do the "hard work," which will include forming new military units and ensuring they are fully equipped. Currently, Germany has about 182,000 active duty soldiers.
The time when we complained about the insufficient budget of the last decades is over. Today it is a starting signal, we are catching up. We have started and we are accelerating, and this is urgent, given the threatening situation
NATO ministers plan to sign one of the most ambitious commitments to increase arms stockpiles since the Cold War. The agreement will be the focus of the June 24-25 summit in The Hague, where Alliance leaders will announce a new 5% target - one demanded by President Donald Trump.
Hegseth later told reporters that NATO allies had "almost reached consensus" on the 5% spending target.
The list of weapons and military requirements that countries must meet — the so-called capability targets — will not be released, but the stockpile will include a plan to expand ground-based air defense capabilities fivefold, filling a critical gap.
Addition
The head of the Bundeswehr Association, Andre Wüstner stated that Germany will need up to 260,000 active duty soldiers to meet NATO's growing defense needs. This is far more than the government's official target of 203,000.