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Germany-Army inspector general: ‘We have too little ammunition’

It will take three years for the improvements in the German army to be “felt” thanks to the 100 billion euro package that the government will give him, according to Bild, the inspector general of the federal army, Eberhard Tsorn.

In detail, Chorn said he was “not afraid in itself” of Germany’s possible involvement in the war, adding that “both NATO and the German chancellor have made it clear that we will not deploy troops to Ukraine.”

Regarding Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons, he said: “We are watching the situation very closely, of course such threatening gestures are worrying. But militarily we see no indication that Putin is preparing an attack on NATO, neither with nuclear nor conventional weapons.” .

“Officially” Germany is not on high alert, said the German military inspector general, but “I am always on the move around the clock with two telephones. And I have a team around me that prepares me to lead immediately in an emergency. “The night the war started, the situation center called me at 3 in the morning: ‘It’s starting. I’ll never forget that phrase.’

Regarding Germany’s assistance to Ukraine, Chorn said: “We provide good-scale support. All arms deliveries are coordinated with our NATO partners and together we ensure a stable supply.”

“During the Ramstein conference, the Ukrainians reaffirmed their need for firearms. For a regular-growing fire unit, you need about a dozen systems,” he said.

Asked if Germany could provide other heavy equipment to Ukraine, Chorn said: “If I say no now, then maybe in 14 days everything will be different again. The fact is that the Ukrainians have explicitly asked us for artillery.

“At the moment I do not have any other requests from the Ukrainian government that affect the Bundeswehr’s stock.”

Army inspector Alfons Mais complained after Putin’s aggressive war that the military was “naked,” Bild said, asking Chorn if he agreed. He replied that “General Mais clearly describes the deficits we have accumulated in recent years.”

“In the military, we have to have full equipment in every unit. The shortage was once disguised as ‘dynamic availability management’, and then it was ‘work-oriented equipment.’ “We financed other projects by saving ammunition and spare parts.”

He added: “During the coronavirus crisis we provided pandemic assistance for two years. Everyone thought this was great, but it led to a situation, especially in the army, where we could only be trained to a limited extent outside of the units that were registered. for NATO obligations.

In other words, men and women were not sufficiently trained in regular cooperation. It will take a year and a half to cover this deficit. ”

“But the amount did not come about by chance. After the election, we calculated here in Parliament how high the Bundeswehr’s investment and modernization needs are in order to meet NATO’s key requirements. The result was € 100 billion. ”

He stressed that it would take “three years” to “feel significant improvements in many areas of the Bundeswehr”.

Source: Capital

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