Russia may attack NATO territory by 2030, warns German defense minister

Currently, Russia targets German infrastructure and energy systems, funds far-right parties AfD and BSW, spreads disinformation through social media, Pistorius says.

Dec 23, 2024 - 20:00
Russia may attack NATO territory by 2030, warns German defense minister

russia's weapons production outpaces eu factor four german defense minister warns germany's pistorius panel discussion friedrich ebert foundation arnsberg november 2024

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned on 22 December that Germany must prepare for Russian hybrid warfare attacks, particularly emphasizing that his country is often the focus of such operations, according to DW and Welt. He also warned of a potential Russian threat to NATO around 2030.

Ahead of Germany’s federal elections, a poll conducted for Bild am Sonntag ranked Pistorius as the top German politician, with 46% of respondents surveyed by Insa favoring his continued influence in German politics, DW reports.

Commenting to the Funke Mediengruppe newspaper group, Pistorius noted:

[Russia’s President] Putin is engaging in hybrid attacks, and Germany is particularly in focus,” he said, according to DW. “He knows us well, Putin knows how to make pinpricks in us.”

The German Defense Minister, as reported by Welt, highlighted various forms of Russian hybrid warfare, including attacks on infrastructure, energy supply, and activities in the North and Baltic Seas. He also pointed to social media campaigns and election interference attempts.

Pistorius specifically addressed concerns about Russian influence on German politics, telling Funke Mediengruppe that there are efforts toward “the financing of voices, such as AfD and BSW, claiming that we are not concerned with our own protection, but are heading for a war with Russia.

This is all part of Putin’s strategy to unsettle our society and drive it apart,” said Pistorius, adding: “We must do everything we can to prevent Putin’s strategy from working.

While Pistorius stated that there is no immediate military threat from Russia to NATO, he warned about future scenarios. According to DW, Russia’s military production has significantly increased, with the country now producing more weapons and ammunition in months than all European Union states combined produce in a year.

From 2029 or 2030, Putin could have rearmed to the extent that Russia would be capable of attacking NATO,” Pistorius said. “We must also expect that in the next few years, Putin could test how united NATO really is by making an advance in one place or another of the Alliance’s territory.

German Military Development In response to these challenges, Germany has initiated several military enhancement programs. DW says Pistorius earlier disclosed Berlin’s plans to increase its armed forces to 230,000 personnel from the current target of 203,000. The German Navy received approval for acquiring four advanced submarines in a 4.7 billion euro deal with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

Russia has long acted as though it’s at war with the West, conducting assassinations, arson, and sabotage even as the West continues to operate under peacetime norms. Russian intelligence has been implicated in multiple high-profile attacks, including assassinating Chechen dissidents abroad, a 2018 nerve agent attack in the UK that killed British national Dawn Sturgess, and an assassination plot against Germany’s Rheinmetall CEO this year. Russian-backed arson and sabotage have also targeted sites in Poland, Slovakia, the Baltic states, Bulgaria, and the UK.

Related:

You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this. 

We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.

A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support.

Become a Patron!