Germany should be prepared for a large-scale military conflict in five years, Captain Michael Giss, commander of the Hamburg State Command of the German Armed Forces, said in an interview with Die Welt published Aug. 11.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany has increased its military budget and pushed to ramp up its defense-industrial capacities.
"In Germany, we are still miles away from perceiving an external threat today, quite different from people in the Baltic states or Poland, for example," Giss told Die Welt.
"But my internal clock as a soldier is running and tells me that in five years' time we will have to be resilient as a society to withstand an external military threat."
Berlin began drawing up its "Operation Plan Germany," a national military preparedness strategy in partnership with NATO, in March 2023 in response to Russia's invasion. Giss said the plan calls for Germany to prepare for "a conventional attack by Russia within five years."
According to Giss, Russia is already engaged in hybrid warfare against NATO, having carried out cyberattacks, sabotage, and disinformation campaigns "for several years."
A growing list of countries have joined Germany in renewed military vigilance, warning that the Alliance must be better prepared for a potential war with Russia.
"The whole of Germany must be made ready for war," Giss said.
Andrew Chakhoyan
