Reports indicate Boris Pistorius is advocating for a €60 billion allocation to the armed forces this year.
According to Reuters sources, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is pushing for a significant increase in the nation’s defense budget, starting this year.
Pistorius, the only minister remaining from the previous government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, previously stated that Russia might target a NATO member and that Germany “must be ready for war by 2029.”
Moscow has consistently refuted these claims, calling them “utter nonsense.”
A Reuters source indicates Pistorius is aiming for a “drastic increase” to over €60 billion ($68.21 billion) for the military in 2025, a jump from €51.8 billion in 2024.
In a December interview, he suggested an annual defense budget of up to €90 billion ($102 billion) “from 2028 onwards… due to the tightened security situation.”
Germany’s total military spending in 2024 reached €90 billion ($88 billion), marking the first time Berlin has met its NATO spending target.
European NATO members are facing growing pressure from the US to increase their military budgets. The European Commission proposed an €800 billion plan in March to militarize the bloc.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told Pistorius in April that Washington wants “European allies to assume primary responsibility” for their security and urged him to “actualize defense spending increases.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a strong supporter of Ukraine, recently announced a new package for Kyiv including armored vehicles, air-defense rockets, and howitzers.
Merz also hinted at potentially approving the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, a decision former Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposed due to concerns about escalating the conflict.
Moscow has warned that any cruise missile attack on Russian facilities or critical infrastructure involving the German armed forces would be considered direct German involvement in military operations.
Moscow views the ongoing militarization of the EU as an “incitement of war on the European continent.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated recently that the bloc “has degraded into an openly militarized entity and become de facto a branch of NATO.”
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