German soldiers attended competitions where Russian soldiers were present: Bundeswehr takes up investigation

German military went to competitions where there were soldiers from Russia: Bundeswehr took on the inspection Vladislav Kravtsov

The German Defense Ministry has launched an investigation into the military's trips to competitions with Russians/Collage 24 Kanal

German military personnel participated in competitions that were also attended by soldiers from Russia. Because of this, the German Defense Ministry is launching an investigation.

The Bild publication writes about this. There have already been several such competitions where Russian and German soldiers were present together.

How German and Russian military personnel ended up at competitions together

At the end of February 2024, the Military Sports Association Archery Competition was held in Bangladesh. At the awards ceremony, eight Russian soldiers posed directly next to seven Bundeswehr servicemen, including the head of the German delegation, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Lützkendorf.

The International Military Sports Association, or CISM, organizes these competitions. Not only did the organization not exclude Russia, but it regularly organizes events in which Russian military personnel can participate, even in uniform.

Lithuania strongly condemned the actions of the German Defense Ministry. Since 2022, Lithuania has been actively boycotting events involving Russian military personnel. A representative of the Hybrid Threat Department of the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said that Russia's participation in these competitions looks like an attempt to gain international recognition despite the current sanctions.

It is incomprehensible that Germany and other countries in the third year of the war are still acting as if Russia's aggressive war against our eastern neighbors does not exist, the Lithuanian representative emphasized.

The representative of the Ministry of Defense said that when the joint photos became known, the Bundeswehr immediately responded and discussed the process with the responsible persons. It was also clearly stated that such photos are unacceptable.

However, according to the Bild investigation, Bundeswehr soldiers were photographed with Russian soldiers at two subsequent CISM events even after the “unacceptable” photos in February. Including the 79th CISM General Assembly in May in Tanzania and the CISM Basketball Championship in June in Serbia.

German soldiers posed next to Russian soldiers at the competition/Photo CISM

Although there were no sports competitions between German and Russian soldiers at either event, there were joint technical meetings and official dinners with German and Russian officers.

Representatives of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also responded that Boris's ministry had been checking since the summer whether Russian and Belarusian troops were participating in these events. And if so, then Germany's participation in these events will be cancelled in principle.