A year after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Bundeswehr Association does not expect the war to end quickly. Putin is preparing his country for a long-term systemic conflict with the West, says association head Wüstner. Germany must prepare "for a decade of threats".
The head of the Bundeswehr Association, Andre Wüstner, expects that the conflict with Russia could last another decade for NATO and Germany. "It would be naïve to believe that the war will be over this year," Wüstner told the "Bild am Sonntag".
"Putin will not deviate from his war goals for the time being. He will continue to try to destabilize Europe. Domestically, he is preparing the Russian population for a long-term systemic conflict with the West. We are experiencing a decade of war in Europe. NATO and Germany must strategically Align Decade to Threat."
Wüstner is therefore pushing for the Bundeswehr to be equipped and upgraded more quickly. "Whether in terms of material, personnel or infrastructure, a real turnaround that can be felt in the troops is needed in this legislative period, otherwise it would be the turning point." Wüstner currently considers the Bundeswehr to be neither fully operational nor ready to defend itself. "The Bundeswehr was not like that at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. It is currently fulfilling the assigned tasks, but that is nothing compared to what we will have to bring to NATO in the future," said Wüstner.
The material deliveries to the Ukraine created further gaps. "I doubt whether we can fulfill the commitments to NATO from 2025 if we don't finally accelerate. Germany has pledged around 60 aircraft, 20 ships, 20,000 soldiers and 7,000 vehicles." The procurement of materials is still progressing far too slowly.
"To date, we have not ordered a single self-propelled howitzer that we handed over to the Ukraine last year, let alone any spare parts packages for it," said Wüstner. "As a result, other of our few remaining howitzers are already being shut down and used as a spare parts store. The result is that the material operational readiness of the artillery troop continues to decrease."
Germany must think bigger again when it comes to armaments. "There will only be a turnaround in production if the industry is informed at an early stage how many battle tanks, ammunition and guns the Bundeswehr will need in the next two to five years and if you give purchase guarantees for them," he said. "It must be possible for ten instead of three Leopard tanks to roll off the production line every month."
