Latest news with #SabineSiebold
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
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Exclusive-NATO to ask Berlin for seven more brigades under new targets, sources say
By Sabine Siebold BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO will ask Germany to provide seven more brigades, or some 40,000 troops, for the alliance's defence, three sources told Reuters, under new targets for weapons and troop numbers that its members' defence ministers are set to agree on next week. The alliance is dramatically increasing its military capability targets as it views Russia as a much greater threat since its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Exact figures for NATO's targets - either overall or country by country - are hard to verify as the information is highly classified. One senior military official who, like the other sources spoke on condition of anonymity, said the target for the total number of brigades that NATO allies would have to provide in future will be raised to between 120 and 130. This would mean a hike of some 50% from the current target of around 80 brigades, the source said. A government source put the target at 130 brigades for all of NATO. Neither the German defence ministry nor NATO responded immediately to requests for comment. In 2021, Germany agreed to provide 10 brigades - units usually comprising around 5,000 troops - for NATO by 2030. It currently has eight brigades and is building up a ninth in Lithuania to be ready from 2027. Providing a further 40,000 active troops will be a big challenge for Berlin, however. The Bundeswehr has not yet met a target of 203,000 troops set in 2018, and is currently short-staffed by some 20,000 regular troops, according to defence ministry data. Last year, Reuters reported that NATO would need 35 to 50 extra brigades to fully realise its new plans to defend against an attack from Russia and that Germany alone would have to quadruple its air defence capabilities. Furthermore, the new NATO targets do not yet reflect any provisions for a drawdown of U.S. troops in Europe, sources said, the prospect of which has rattled Europeans due to NATO's defence plans that rely heavily on U.S. assets. Washington has said it will start discussing its reduction plans with allies later this year. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has told Europeans that the United States can no longer be primarily focused on European security. During the Cold War, Germany maintained 500,000 troops and 800,000 reserve forces. Today, alongside Poland, it is tasked by NATO with providing the bulk of ground forces that would be first responders to any Russian attack on the alliance's eastern flank. SPENDING INCREASE NATO members have massively increased defence spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and have been urged to go further by Trump, who has threatened not to defend countries lagging behind on defence spending. At a summit in The Hague next month, the alliance's head Mark Rutte will seek an agreement from national leaders to more than double their current spending target from 2% of GDP to 5% - with 3.5% for defence and 1.5% for more broadly defined security-related spending. In a historic shift, Germany recently loosened its constitutional debt brake so that it can raise defence spending, and it has backed Rutte's 5% target. German Chief of Defence Carsten Breuer has ordered his country's forces to be fully equipped by 2029, by which time the alliance expects Moscow to have reconstituted its military forces sufficiently to attack NATO territory.
Daily Maverick
26-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
German chief of defence orders swift expansion of warfare capabilities
Loosening of German debt brake can fund defence spending Priorities include strengthening air defences to intercept drones German army chief said Russian forces are rapidly gaining firepower By Sabine Siebold By 2029, Russia may have reconstituted its forces sufficiently to attack NATO territory, according to estimates by Breuer and other senior military officials at NATO. The latest document, entitled 'Directive Priorities for the Bolstering of Readiness', which Breuer signed on May 19, said Germany will meet the goal with the help of funds made available by the loosening of the country's debt brake in March. The defence ministry in Berlin did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In the directive, Breuer sets priorities for the weapons that should be acquired or developed most urgently, reflecting in part priorities NATO has previously laid out. Among them, Breuer lists the strengthening of Germany's depleted air defences, in particular with a view to intercepting drones. Last year, sources told Reuters that NATO will request Berlin to at least quadruple its air defences, ranging from systems with a longer range, such as the Patriot, to short-range systems. Another priority is a capability to launch deep precision strikes, according to the document, effectively hitting targets at a distance of more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) and far behind enemy lines. In addition to pushing for Germany's ammunition stocks to be replenished, Breuer also orders Germany to raise its stockpiling targets for all types of ammunition. Other priorities listed in the document are the swift expansion of Germany's capabilities in electronic warfare and the establishment of a resilient system of 'offensive and defensive capabilities' in space. In a speech in mid-May, Army Chief Alfons Mais said a large-scale social and industrial mobilisation meant Russian forces were rapidly gaining firepower. 'From 2029, at the latest, the Russian forces will be capable of a conventional aggression against NATO territory on a large scale,' he said. 'But they can start testing us much sooner.'
The Print
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Estonia says Russia sent jet after attempt to stop sanction-breaking ship
Estonia's navy said the unflagged Jaguar ship, which went onto a UK sanctions list last week, refused to cooperate when asked to stop and was then escorted to Russian waters. Russia, which regards sanctions as a malign attempt to crush its economy, says all its ships have free passage in the Baltic and any attempt to stop them is dangerous. By Andrius Sytas and Sabine Siebold TALLINN/ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) – Estonia said on Thursday that Moscow had briefly sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an attempt to stop a Russian-bound oil tanker thought to be part of a 'shadow fleet' defying Western sanctions on Moscow. 'The Russian Federation sent a fighter jet to check the situation, and this fighter jet violated NATO territory for close to one minute,' Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters in Turkey ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers from the transatlantic military alliance. '(The) Russian Federation is ready to protect the 'shadow fleet'… The situation is really serious,' Tsahkna added. Western nations say Moscow is using a 'shadow fleet' of more than 100 ships to dodge sanctions that President Vladimir Putin views as a part of a campaign to quash its global influence. Moscow sends millions of barrels of oil and fuel every day to buyers in China and India and has warned against any attempt to violate its vessels' freedom of movement. The tanker was sailing in international waters, between Estonia and Finland, and refused Estonian navy requests to change course, a spokesperson for the Baltic country's defence forces later told Reuters. A Russian SU-35 fighter jet approached the tanker and circled it, flying in international airspace except when it violated Estonian airspace briefly as it first approached the scene, the spokesperson added. Finland accused Russian ships of behaving recklessly in the area while Lithuania expressed fears of conflict. 'The probability of a serious escalation in the Baltic Sea is growing,' Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said. 'Russia is clearly demonstrating that it is ready to protect the route for its oil. We need to act carefully and rationally, so that escalation does not turn into a military clash.' NATO chief Mark Rutte said the alliance and Estonia were in 'close contact' about the incident. 'FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS' Estonia said NATO military aircraft had also taken off to inspect the Gabon-listed Jaguar. It was near Naissaar Island off the Estonian capital Tallinn when the navy communicated with it by radio on Tuesday afternoon, Commander Ivo Vark told Reuters in an email message. Given it was sailing 'without a nationality', the navy sought to verify its documents and status, Vark said. But when it refused to cooperate and continued towards Russian waters, the navy opted to escort it there with a patrol ship. On Thursday, the Jaguar was anchored near the Russian port of Primorsk, Marine Traffic data showed. Footage on X purporting to be filmed from the bridge of the tanker shows an Estonian navy patrol ship, helicopter and aircraft nearby. An identification number seen in the video matches the Jaguar. 'This is Estonian warship … follow my instructions, alter your course to 105 immediately,' a voice in English sounds over a radio. 'We are met by helicopters, they demand we go on anchor,' says another voice in Russian off-camera. Another voice, in Hindi, says: 'The plane is on top of us. It's either an aircraft or a drone. The military ship is turning towards the stern of the vessel.' A military jet, which Estonia does not operate, is also glimpsed flying nearby. On X, Margarita Simonyan, head of Russia's state media outlet RT, who posted the video, said the figher jet was sent to prevent the vessel's seizure. Authorities in Gabon did not immediately comment on Estonia's assertion that the ship is on their registry. In another incident on April 11, Estonia detained and boarded a Russia-bound oil tanker, Kiwala, accusing it of sailing without a valid country flag. The tanker was released two weeks later after Djibouti confirmed its registry. Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev told the Kommersant newspaper last month that Russia's navy was ready to protect its ships. 'Hotheads in London or Brussels need to understand this clearly,' he said, adding that Western efforts to block Russian ships were beginning to resemble a 'naval blockade'. It was unclear if Estonia acted on its own initiative or on a request from NATO. Washington is pushing hard for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he could rachet up sanctions if Moscow refuses to cooperate. (Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Tallinn and Sabine Siebold in Antalya; Additional reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov in London, Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, Andrew Gray in Brussels, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome in Libreville; Writing by Andrius Sytas and Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Andrew Cawthorne and Gareth Jones) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Berlin backs Trump's demand to hike NATO spending target to 5%
By Sabine Siebold, Humeyra Pamuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) - Germany on Thursday backed U.S. President Donald Trump's demand to more than double NATO's defence spending target to 5% of GDP, as Washington urged countries to eliminate any "weak links" in the alliance caused by a lack of military investment. "We are following him (Trump), and we see this as a clear commitment by the United States to NATO's Article 5," Germany's new Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, referring to the military alliance's mutual defence pact. Wadephul, who took office earlier last week as part of a new conservative-led government, was speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Turkish city of Antalya, where defence spending was high on the agenda. NATO's current defence spending target is 2% of GDP - a goal currently met or exceeded by 22 of its 32 members. But many NATO leaders say that target is now too low, as they see Russia as a much greater threat following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. With six weeks to go before NATO leaders hold a summit at The Hague, member countries are striving to satisfy Trump's demands, aiming to prevent a recurrence of past threats by the U.S. president to withdraw from the alliance or weaken the U.S. commitment to collective defence. NATO chief Mark Rutte has proposed a two-pronged approach to meet Trump's 5% call, suggesting allies spend 3.5% of their GDP on defence and dedicate a further 1.5% to broader security-related issues such as infrastructure and cyber security. Thursday's meeting was the first opportunity for foreign ministers to discuss the proposal. Some countries had previously made clear they saw 5% of GDP as an unrealistic target, at least in the near term. At the other end of the spectrum, some are unhappy with the idea that not all of the 5% would go on core military spending. "The target for NATO member states should be 5% in the future. And we are not talking about anything else but real defence spending, what is defined in NATO rules," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in Antalya. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a more emollient tone on NATO than some members of the Trump administration, who have sparked European fears about Washington's commitment to an alliance that relies heavily on U.S. military power. But he made clear the U.S. expected its allies to step up their defence spending. "NATO has the opportunity to grow even stronger. The only as strong as his weakest link and we intend and endeavor to have no weak links in this alliance," Rubio told reporters in Antalya before the meeting. Rutte said he was optimistic that more countries will reach the current NATO target before the summit. "It now seems that we will get very far in bringing the whole of the alliance to the 2%, that will build the launching platform for the summit," he said.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-German defence minister seeks annual budget hike to over 60 billion euros, sources say
By Sabine Siebold, Markus Wacket and Holger Hansen BERLIN (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is seeking a drastic increase in the country's annual defence budget to over 60 billion euros ($68.21 billion) starting in 2025, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. In 2024, the regular defence budget was 52 billion euros. It was supplemented by 20 billion euros from a special 100-billion-euro fund created in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The fund aims to bring Germany's long neglected military back up to speed but will be fully used up by 2028. Pistorius wants the budget hike to take effect in 2025, one of the sources said on Tuesday, adding that the minister aimed to keep annual spending at over 60 billion euros for the coming four years and that it would be covered by the government's medium term spending plans. A second source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated on Wednesday that the defence ministry was aiming for a budget of some 63 billion euros in 2025. This would represent a 10 billion euro increase from the budget proposal under former Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition before it collapsed last November. "Still, the challenge will be how the money can be spent in a timely way," the source added, citing the common issue that the defence industry often struggles to ramp up production fast enough to accommodate unscheduled orders. In 2024, the defence ministry had difficulties meeting the NATO target of 2% military spending as a proportion of national output due to a slow disbursement of funds. A senior government source, asked on Wednesday about the reported target of "over 60 billion euros", was less specific but said the figure was in the right ballpark. A spokesperson for the defence ministry, asked to comment on the matter, said the budget process for 2025 had not been completed. She would neither confirm nor deny the reported target of over 60 billion euros. MAJOR TURNAROUND Pistorius, a Social Democrat, is the only minister from the previous government to retain his position in the new coalition led by conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which took office on Tuesday after months of negotiations. Germany and other European nations are under heavy pressure from the Trump administration to ramp up defence spending. Europe's NATO members also feel less able to rely on the U.S. security guarantee than in the past as they face off against a more aggressive Russia. In a major turnaround for a country that has traditionally advocated strict fiscal discipline, Germany, Europe's largest economy, recently approved plans for a massive spending surge. The fiscal plan includes 500 billion euros ($569 billion) for a special fund for infrastructure and also largely removes defence investment from the domestic rules that cap borrowing. ($1 = 0.8797 euros) (Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Markus Wacket and Holger Hansen; Editing by Sabine Wollrab, Madeline Chambers and Gareth Jones)
