The German Defense Ministry has warned of the growing threat due to the new military capabilities of Russia and China, according to the German publication Welt am Sonntag.
According to the material, the country possesses 6375 nuclear warheads and aims to “destabilize and weaken” NATO.
The German Defense Ministry believes that 840,000 Russian soldiers are well trained and can be quickly moved from location to location. “The conventional armed forces of Russia are capable of achieving superiority in a short time in a certain territory,” the message says. The experts attributed to the weaknesses the limited opportunities at sea on a global scale and the lack of attack drones.
According to the newspaper, for Russia the armed forces are “an instrument of political power.”
However, one of the ministry's conclusions reads: “China is increasingly ahead of Russia in terms of global influence, including with regard to arms sales and military cooperation.”
In November, the head of the German Defense Ministry, speaking in the Bundestag, called for negotiations with Russia on disarmament from a position of strength. The head of the ministry, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, stressed that “this has always been a good position in German foreign policy, and this should remain so in the future.” Prior to that, she also accused Russia of aggression and disregard for the rights of other countries.
