Germany could reinstate compulsory military service for all 18-year-olds amid fears of an all-out Nato war with Russia, leaked military plans reveal.
Military planners are discussing three potential plans, two of which involve a mandatory military year for all men once they turn 18.
Officials are understood to be in the final stages of talks with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who is expected to make his official plans public next month. The Sunday Telegraph reported.
Pistorius, during a trip to Washington last week, said he was “convinced” that Germany “needs a form of military conscription.”
He also previously described the country’s decision to suspend conscription in 2011 as a “mistake.”
Germany could reinstate compulsory military service for all 18-year-olds amid fears of an all-out Nato war with Russia, leaked military plans reveal. Vladimir Putin declared last week that his nuclear forces were in full combat readiness in preparation for a global war. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday.
The NATO-reinforced Forward Presence battle group fires the Spanish Army Leopard 2 tank during the final phase of the Silver Arrow 2022 military exercise at the Adazi military training ground in Latvia
In a proposal being considered by military planners in Berlin, all men and women would be subject to mandatory military service once they turn 18.
Germany’s previous policy on conscription only applied to men.
Including women would require changing the nation’s constitution, according to the newspaper, but ministry experts believe the change “will most likely receive the approval of society.”
Another proposal, which the Ministry of Defense considers a “strong signal” to both allies and rivals, would only apply to 18-year-old men, but would not select everyone, leaked reports revealed.
The young men would be asked to fill out an online form and could then be chosen for service.
A third option being considered avoids conscription and instead focuses on “streamlining” the current military system through more proactive recruiting campaigns.
News of the Defense Ministry’s potential recruiting plans comes just days after Vladimir Putin declared his nuclear forces were on full combat readiness in preparation for a global war.
Putin, in a haunting speech Thursday from Moscow’s Red Square, addressed senior officials, members of the armed forces and millions of Russian citizens.
He praised the troops fighting in Ukraine for their bravery and also criticized what Russia calls the “collective West,” accusing it of “fueling regional conflicts, interethnic and interreligious strife and seeking to contain sovereign and independent centers of global development.” .
A Romanian special force boards the Romanian frigate ‘King Ferdinand’ during the NATO-led drill Sea Shield 2024 in the Black Sea off Constanta, Romania, April 16, 2024.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (pictured May 8) said Saturday that Ukrainians with a residence and work permit in Germany can stay even as Ukraine seeks to recruit citizens living abroad to serve in the war against Russia.
Amid tensions between Russia and the West that have soared to the highest level since the Cold War, Putin also issued another stark reminder about Russia’s nuclear power.
Putin said the Kremlin would do everything possible to avoid a global confrontation, but warned that his military was ready to confront any threat to his nation’s security.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday that Ukrainians with a residence permit and working in Germany can stay even as Ukraine seeks to recruit citizens living abroad to serve in the war against Russia.
The Ukrainian government last month approved rules temporarily banning men of military age from applying for passports abroad, further tightening regulations as it seeks to address troop shortages to counter Russia’s attacks.
“The legal situation is such that this does not call into question residence here,” Scholz said in a webcast by the RND newspaper group.
“Being employed leads to security of residency,” he said, adding that Germany wanted to encourage Ukrainians in the country to work.
