German military chief defends planned high military expenditure
German Armed Forces Chief Inspector Carsten Breuer has justified the significantly increasing defence expenditure for Germany.
The discussed spending amounting to 3.5% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is not unfounded, the highest-ranking soldier of the Bundeswehr told the news magazine Der Spiegel in remarks published on Friday.
"It is clearly derived from a significant threat posed by Russia. We must arm ourselves against this danger, both as the Bundeswehr and as a NATO member," Breuer said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be deterred by a percentage figure, Breuer further stated. It is about growing capabilities, reasonable equipment, "combat-ready units and soldiers" who could be alerted at any time.
"To be able to achieve this, the target of well over 3% is very realistic," Breuer said. Combat readiness means for the armed forces that they are ready for deployment in terms of materiel and personnel, he explained.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently stated that the federal government agrees with the target presented by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and to provide an additional 1.5% for militarily necessary infrastructure.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius mentioned a period of five to seven years in which the 3.5% could be achieved.
"We must become the engine of deterrence in Europe," said Breuer. He defended his warning that Russia could be ready by 2029 to turn against NATO states as well.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine strikes grounded Russian bombers in major drone assault
Ukraine said Sunday it destroyed Russian bombers worth billions of dollars in a "large-scale" drone assault on enemy soil as it geared up for talks with Moscow counterparts to explore prospects for a ceasefire. In a spectacular claim, Ukraine said it damaged $7 billion worth of Russian aircraft parked at four airbases thousands of kilometres (miles) away, with unverified video footage showing aicraft engulfed in flames and black smoke. A source in the Ukrainian security services said the drones were concealed in the ceilings of shipping containers which were opened up to release them for the assault. The long-planned operation came at a delicate moment three years into Russia's invasion. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he was sending a delegation to Istanbul led by his Defence Minister Rustem Umerov for talks on Monday with Russian officials. Turkey is hosting the meeting, which was spurred by US President Donald Trump's push for a quick deal to end the three-year war. Zelensky, who previously voiced scepticism about whether Russia was serious in proposing Monday's meeting, said he had defined the Ukrainian delegation's position going into it. Priorities included "a complete and unconditional ceasefire" and the return of prisoners and abducted children, he said on social media. Russia has rejected previous ceasefire demands. It said it has formulated its own peace terms but refused to divulge them in advance. Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out a Turkish proposal for the countries' leaders to attend the meeting. Russian news agencies said the Russian delegation was headed to Istanbul on Sunday for the talks. - Drone attacks inside Russia - A source in Ukraine's SBU security service said the coordinated attacks inside Russia were "aimed at destroying enemy bombers far from the front". Rybar, an account on the Telegram message platform that is close to the Russian military, called it a "very heavy blow" for Moscow and pointed to what it called "serious errors" by Russian intelligence. The SBU source said strikes targeted Russian airbases in the eastern Siberian city of Belaya, in Olenya, in the Arctic near Finland, and in Ivanovo and Dyagilevo, both east of Moscow. More than 40 aircraft had been hit at the Belaya base and a fire had broken out there, the source said, showing a video in which several aircraft could be seen in flames and black smoke rising. AFP was not able to independently verify the claims or the video images. The SBU claimed in a social media post to have hit Russian military planes worth a combined $7 billion in a "special operation". Russia's defence ministry confirmed on Telegram that several of its military aircraft "caught fire", adding that there were no casualties and that several "participants" had been arrested. Igor Kobzev, Governor of Russia's Irkutsk region, which hosts the targeted Belaya airbase, said it was "the first attack of this sort in Siberia". He called on the population not to panic and posted an amateur video apparently showing a drone flying in the sky and a large cloud of grey smoke. The governor of the Murmansk region where the Olenya base was located, Andrey Chibis, also said "enemy drones" were flying overhead, and anti-aircraft defences were operating. Russia has been announcing Ukrainian drone attacks on a near-daily basis, usually saying they had all been shot down. But it was rare for such drone strikes to be reported so deep within its territory. At the same time, Russia has been carrying out constant attacks on Ukraine. On Sunday, Ukraine's air force said it was hit by 472 Russian drones and seven missiles overnight -- a record since the beginning of the invasion. In a rare admission of its military losses, the Ukraine army said Russia's "missile strike on the location of one of the training units" had killed a dozen soldiers, most of whom had been in shelters during the attack, and wounded more than 60. The attack led Ukrainian ground forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty to announce his resignation, saying he felt "responsibility" for the soldiers' deaths. - Blasts fell bridges - Separately on Sunday, the Russian army said it had captured another village in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, where Kyiv fears Moscow could mount a fresh ground assault. Russia claims to have captured several settlements in the region in recent weeks, and has massed more than 50,000 soldiers on the other side of the border, according to Zelensky. Authorities in the region have evacuated more than 200 villages amid intensified shelling. In Russia, officials said a blast brought down a road bridge in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine on Saturday, derailing a passenger train heading to Moscow and killing seven people. A separate rail bridge in the neighbouring Kursk region was blown up hours later in the early hours of Sunday, derailing a freight train and injuring the driver. Authorities did not say who was behind the explosions, but investigators said a criminal inquiry was underway. bur/rmb/djt/rlp
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ukrainian drones destroyed Putin's bombers. A secret smuggling operation made it possible
It hardly seemed credible. Drone after drone, emerging from the top of a shipping container parked by the side of an unremarkable road somewhere deep inside Russia. Each tiny device buzzed as it rose laden with explosives on its kamikaze mission to destroy some of the Russian military's most prized assets. As they flew overhead, filming their progress, their targets came into view: rows of strategic bombers, some capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency, the SBU, said it was responsible for the attacks on four bases, and a security official said a total of 41 Russian warplanes worth some $7 billion were hit. The attack comes at a critical juncture in the war, with Donald Trump's peace plan hanging by a thread. But the extraordinary story of how the drones were deployed to launch their attack started many months earlier. Over a period of weeks, they were smuggled into Russia under the supervision of the SBU, which presumably had to alter its targeting plans after Russia relocated the bulk of its strategic bomber fleet. The drones were then concealed inside special containers placed inside commercial cargo lorries whose roof panels had been modified to retract at the touch of a remote control button. By all accounts, the drivers had no idea about the nature of the dangerous cargo they carried. Credit: Telegram / russianocontext Local residents near the Olenya base in Russia's far north described watching a driver running around in panic as FPV drones repeatedly launched from the back of his lorry. He later told police that he had been instructed to park his vehicle in a lay-by near the town of Olenegorsk where somebody would meet him. Footage from elsewhere in Russia showed drones rising from the back of another lorry as passers-by stood by helplessly. It was not the first time that lorries had been used by the Ukrainians in the war. A truck carrying explosives was remotely detonated to help bring down part of the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland in 2020. But this was rather more sophisticated, with reports that the drones had been trained using artificial intelligence to hit the weakest points of the bombers parked along the aprons of the airbases. Fearing Ukraine's growing strike capacity, Russia had only weeks earlier moved many of its strategic bombers to bases like Olenya and Belaya, 1,000km and 2,500km from the front line, where it was assumed they would be well beyond the enemy's reach. Other bases in Ryazan and Ivanovo were also targeted, both of which are within 600 miles of the Ukrainian border. For the Russian air force, the planes targeted were prize assets: the iconic Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear', a long-range strategic bomber capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads; the Tu-160 'Blackjack', the largest combat aircraft in the world, and the Tu-22M3 'Backfire', the supersonic strike workhorse of the fleet. The Russians, however, had not counted on Ukraine's Mossad-like ingenuity nor their desperation to strike at the long-range bombers that had inflicted so much destruction and bloodshed on its cities and people. For the most part, Operation Spiderweb, as it has been designated, did not rely on long-range drones or missiles, but instead on small, hand-held first-person view drones of the kind that has proved so effective on the battlefield. Russian military bloggers were quick to liken it to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 An exaggeration, clearly — yet in terms of chutzpah, in terms of scope and quite possibly in terms of damage, Ukraine's near-simultaneous attacks on four airfields deep inside Russia marks an unprecedented moment in the war. If Ukrainian officials are to be believed, as many as 40 of Russia's most sophisticated, expensive and destructive strategic bombers were eliminated in little more than a couple of hours. Such claims await the confirmation of an independent battle damage assessment, yet whatever the real number is there can be little doubt what a humiliating blow Ukraine has inflicted on Russia – or what a powerful message Kyiv has sent its allies in the West. For night after night before the surprise assault, Ukraine's cities had reeled under some of the most intense Russian bombardment of the war. Dozens had died, children among them, yet there was no sign of the Kremlin relenting. As his envoys prepared to present his peace terms at a second round of negotiations in Istanbul, Vladimir Putin seemed determined to project Russia's total military dominance. So confident does he remain that his forces will prevail on the battlefield that the Russian president contemptuously ignored requests to share his proposals with Kyiv in advance. Yet hours before the talks were due to begin, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader, had a pointed message of his own to deliver. He had been involved in Operation Spiderweb from its conceptualisation 18 months ago. There had been coordinated attacks on Russian airfields before. On the night of August 13 last year, Ukraine unleashed what was then its largest drone assault of the war on Russian territory, striking four airbases in Kursk, Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod. Yet these bases were all within a few hundred miles of the Ukrainian border. Operation Spiderweb was conceived on a much, much grander scale. On the night before it was initiated, Ukraine had suffered perhaps its most intense airstrikes of a bloody week, with officials in Kyiv saying that 472 drones and seven ballistic and cruise missiles had struck targets across the country, including the capital. By Sunday morning, Ukraine appeared to have exacted a measure of revenge after two transport bridges were blown up in the neighbouring regions of Bryans and Kursk just as trains were passing. Seven people were killed, Russians officials said, blaming Ukraine. Yet these attacks were but a prelude. Among the planes destroyed, Ukrainian intelligence officials said, were not just Tu-95 and TU-22M3 bombers but also an A-50 'Mainstay', one of just a handful of Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft Russia has left in its arsenal. The A-50, worth an estimated £230 million, is a flying radar and command post that is vital for coordinating fighter jets and air defences as well as for situational awareness. They are thought to be irreplaceable. According to Ukrainian intelligence officials, all those knowingly involved in the operation have returned safely home, their mission accomplished in the most astonishing way.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine updates: Russian planes on fire after drone strikes
Russia confirmed airfields in five regions were hit by Ukraine drones Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency claims responsibility for the strikes it says caused $7 billion (€6.17 billion) of damage News agencies cited a Ukrainian security official as saying 41 planes were destroyed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the his defense miniister will lead Ukraine's delegation at Istanbul peace talks Below you can the main developments regarding Russia's war in Ukraine from Sunday, June 1, 2025: Kyiv reported a record breaking number of Russian missile and drone attacks on Sunday, saying Russia launched 472 drones and seven missiles overnight. Ukraine admitted a Russian missile hit "the location of one of the training units," killing at least 12 Ukrainian troops and wounding over 60 others. Most of the soldiers who lost their lives are said to have been in shelters during the attack. Ukrainian ground forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty resigned following the incident, saying he felt "responsibility" for the deaths. Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine had launched drone strikes targeting airfields across five regions. "In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, the launch of FPV drones from an area in close proximity to airfields resulted in several aircraft catching fire," the ministry said. Russia said most of the attacks were repelled. Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency said it was behind the attacks on Russian planes which it said caused $7 billion (€6.17 billion) in damage. "This is the estimated cost of the enemy's strategic aviation, which was hit today as a result of the SBU's special operation," they said in an online post. A passenger train derailed following a bridge blast in Bryansk region, with at least seven dead and scores injured, Russian authorities said. A freight train also derailed hours later following another bridge collapse in Kursk, with no casualties reported. Russian officials said both bridges were blown up, with its investigators classifying the incidents as "acts of terrorism." Read our full report here. There are unconfirmed reports this Sunday that a Ukrainian drone strike has destroyed more than 40 Russian aircraft. Ukraine's domestic intelligence service is claiming responsbility for the attacks, saying they caused billions of dollars in damages. Meanwhile, Moscow said drone strikes caused "several aircraft" to catch fire. Also, a senior Ukrainian military commander quit on Sunday after a Russian attack overnight killed a dozen soldiers on training. The hostilities come on the eve of a fresh push for peace negotiations in Istanbul, with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying his defense minister will be leading the delegation. DW will provide the latest news, analysis, and insights from our reporters and correspondents regarding Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
