Russia perceives Berlin's statement about plans to create in Germany the largest army in Europe among NATO states as yet another confirmation that the German authorities have embarked on a course "for the accelerated remilitarization of their country."

This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

“We perceive this statement by the Federal Chancellor of Germany as yet another confirmation that Germany has embarked on a forced remilitarization of its country.

How this can end, alas, is well known to everyone from history.

We will closely monitor the announced rearmament and the possible increase in the size of the German armed forces, taking into account its international legal obligations on restraint in the military sphere, ”Zakharova emphasized during the briefing.

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that funding the Bundeswehr for €100 billion would lead to a serious strengthening of the German armed forces.

“Germany will have the largest conventional army in Europe within NATO,” Scholz said in an interview with the German newspapers Neuen Berliner Redaktiongemenischaft, Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten.

In addition, the security of Germany and its allies will be “significantly strengthened” in this way, he added. 

According to Scholz, all of Berlin's partners know that "the Bundeswehr does not have a large stock of combat-ready combat vehicles that can be supplied."

The German chancellor called the “big problem” the fact that the Bundeswehr “has been chronically underfunded since 2010”, which is why “the ability to defend has been limited”, but the situation should change as additional funds become available.

"The answer to the change of eras"

Recall that the German authorities must approve the legal basis for a special fund for the Bundeswehr in the amount of €100 billion. Relevant innovations are planned to be enshrined in the fundamental law of Germany, which requires a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag and the House of Representatives of the federal states.

If the special fund is finally approved, then the German government will be able to invest in increasing the defense capability of the armed forces.

Olaf Scholz has already announced that additional funds for the Bundeswehr "will soon be allocated."

“With an additional €100 billion, we will ensure that the Bundeswehr can perform its defense tasks like never before.

This is a significant step for the security of Germany and Europe - our response to the change of eras, ”he wrote on his Twitter on May 30.

  • German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

  • AP

  • © John Thys, Pool

Meanwhile, the magazine Der Spiegel had an economic plan at its disposal, which outlined exactly what these funds would be spent on.

First of all, we are talking about the purchase of military equipment, its modernization and the creation of new models.

In particular, it is planned to allocate €16.6 billion for the development of the ground forces, and more than €19.3 billion for the Navy (the purchase of corvettes, frigates, submarines, naval reconnaissance aircraft and a new missile system for warships is planned).

However, most of the funds are planned to be spent on the air force - about €40.9 billion, the newspaper writes.

In particular, Berlin has plans to purchase Eurofighters and a new transport helicopter.

In addition, it is planned to replace the "dilapidated" Tornadoes, including with American F-35 aircraft.

It is noteworthy that against the backdrop of rearmament plans, the Bundestag Commissioner for Bundeswehr Affairs, Eva Högl, reported problems associated with the spread of right-wing extremism in the ranks of the German army.

Högl said more personnel are needed to combat this phenomenon, as it is worrying that many cases involving right-wing extremism take an extremely long time - up to several years.

“The effect of punishments disappears if the decision is made only after five years.

This is unacceptable, ”the German media quoted Högl as saying.

According to a report by the German constitutional protection agency, more than 80 cases of right-wing extremism were recorded in the German army between July 2018 and June 2021, writes Der Spiegel.

"Built on myths"

According to experts, if earlier Germany refrained from positioning itself as a military force, focusing on the development of its economy, now it wants to take advantage of the current situation to realize its militaristic ambitions.

However, according to analysts, the allocation of additional funding for the Bundeswehr may have a negative impact on the lives of ordinary Germans.

“Of course, this will be an additional burden on the economy, which in Germany has not yet recovered from the pandemic.

In addition, the energy crisis is aggravating, due to which prices are rising not only for gasoline and other types of fuel, but also for food, as well as other goods.

In the event of remilitarization, it will not be possible to maintain the previous standard of living and well-being in Germany: social spending and the corresponding budget items will be reduced.

This will increase tension in society, ”Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, predicted in an interview with RT.

He suggested that Germany, through militarization, apparently hopes to stimulate its military-industrial complex, but such a measure, from his point of view, "will not bring stability to Europe."

“This step does not add anything positive to the peaceful development of the EU, but, on the contrary, gives this process a militaristic bias.

And here, of course, the German authorities take on a great responsibility,” says Olenchenko.

The analyst admitted that the initiative with additional funding for the Bundeswehr suggests that Germany claims to dominate Europe militarily.

“We should also not lose sight of the fact that the decisions of the German authorities can be influenced by the American lobby in the German government, primarily among the greens,” Olenchenko said.

He also noted that Chancellor Scholz, who really plans to remilitarize the country, hopes to strengthen his domestic political positions in this way.

“The chancellor's rating is kept at a fairly low level.

The main complaint against him is socio-economic problems.

Scholz takes into account the opinion of the right-wing liberals present in the government.

Apparently, they make it clear to the chancellor that his position will be shaken if he does not support them, ”says Olenchenko.

At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that the need for the militarization of Germany is “built on myths,” since now there are no countries or military blocs that would threaten the FRG.

“Probably, the “Russian threat” that has already become traditional in the West is implied.

However, the question that Berlin needs to defend itself from the Russian Federation has been raised unreasonably.

In addition, when it comes to remilitarization, it is primarily regarded as an aggressive action, and not as a defensive one,” Olenchenko noted.

  • German military equipment in Germany

  • AP

  • © Martin Meissner

According to Victoria Fedosova, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, official Berlin, lobbying for the allocation of additional funding for the military sphere, continues its course towards "intimidating the Germans with Russian aggression."

“Real actions in the defense sector were needed to confirm the response of the authorities to the threat they created.

In his statement in the Bundestag, Scholz once again noted that the previous ruling coalitions “failed” the defense sector and he writes down the increase in military spending in the achievements of the current coalition, ”she said in a conversation with RT.

Fedosova doubts that even if there are real plans to rearm the Bundeswehr, the German authorities will be able to create the largest army in Europe.

“A special fund of €100 billion may not be enough to not only re-equip the army and create new models of equipment, but also to attract people to long-term service.

Taking into account energy costs, it is generally difficult to imagine the creation of its own forces with such a reserve, rather, with this fund, Germany will only support American manufacturers and increase contributions to the NATO budget to 2% of GDP, ”concluded the analyst.