Germany ‘considers conscripting all 18-year-olds’ amid fears of conflict
- German defence minister said he was ‘convinced’ Germany ‘needs conscription’
Germany could bring back conscription for all 18-year-olds amid fears out an all-out NATO war with Russia, leaked military plans reveal.
Military planners are discussing three potential plans, two of which involve a compulsory military year for all men once they turn 18.
It is understood that officials are in the final stages of discussions with German defence minister Boris Pistorius expected to go public with official plans next month, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
Mr 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 compulsory military service in 2011 as a ‘mistake’.
Germany could bring back conscription for all 18-year-olds amid fears out an all-out NATO war with Russia, leaked military plans reveal. Vladimir Putin last week declared his nuclear forces were at full combat readiness in preparation for a global war. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Moscow
NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group Spanish army tank Leopard 2 fires during the final phase of the Silver Arrow 2022 military drill on Adazi military training grounds in Latvia
In one proposal being considered by military planners in Berlin, all men and women would be subject to conscription once they turned 18.
Germany’s previous policy on compulsory military service only applied to men.
To include women would require a changing the nation’s constitution, according to the newspaper, but ministry insiders reportedly believe the change would ‘most likely to receive societal approval’.
Another proposal, which is viewed by the defence ministry as a ‘a strong signal’ to both allies and rivals, would only apply to 18-year-old men, but would not see everyone selected, the leaked reports revealed.
Young men would be required to complete an online form and could then later be chosen for service.
A third option under consideration avoids conscription and instead focuses on ‘optimising’ the current military system through more proactive recruitment campaigns.
News of the defence ministry’s potential conscription plans comes just days after Vladimir Putin declared his nuclear forces were at full combat readiness in preparation for a global war.
Putin, in an unsettling speech on Thursday from Moscow‘s Red Square, addressed top officials, members of the armed forces and millions of Russian citizens.
He hailed the troops fighting in Ukraine for their courage and also blasted what Russia calls the ‘collective West’, accusing it of ‘fuelling regional conflicts, inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife and trying to contain sovereign and independent centers of global development’.
A Romanian Special Forces boards the Romanian frigate ‘King Ferdinand’ during the Sea Shield 2024 NATO-led drill in the Black Sea, outside Constanta, Romania on April 16, 2024
Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz (pictured May 8) said on Saturday that Ukrainians with a residence permit and work in Germany can stay even as Ukraine seeks to recruit nationals living abroad to serve in the war against Russia
Amid Russia-West tensions that have soared to the highest level since the Cold War, Putin also issued another stark reminder about Russia’s nuclear might.
Putin said the Kremlin would do everything to avoid global confrontation, but warned that his military was ready to meet any threat to his nation’s security.
Meanwhile, Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that Ukrainians with a residence permit and work in Germany can stay even as Ukraine seeks to recruit nationals living abroad to serve in the war against Russia.
The Ukrainian government last month approved rules temporarily barring military-age men from applying for passports abroad, further tightening regulations as it seeks to address a shortage of troops to counter Russia’s attacks.
‘The legal situation is such that residency here is not called into question by this,’ said Scholz, speaking at a webcast event by the RND group of newspapers.
‘Being in employment leads to security of residence,’ he said, adding that Germany wanted to encourage Ukrainians in the country to work
