André Wüstner, the chairman of the German Bundeswehr Association, warned that NATO’s deterrent posture against Russia is being weakened by the United States and other states’ focus on the Iran conflict. “We must not keep concentrating only on the war of the U.S. and Israel against Iran” he told the “Rheinische Post”. “The greatest danger to our lives in peace and freedom still comes from Russia”.
Wüstner dismissed reliance on Donald Trump as an ally. He said that treating the year 2029 as the fixed point for a summit on the Russian threat is “optimistic wish‑fulfilment”. The danger already exists, he warned, and is growing daily. Trump’s conduct and Europe’s military weakness have created a deterrence gap that must be closed at the earliest opportunity.
He cautioned that President Vladimir Putin could take advantage of the situation in Ukraine and of Russian aggression against NATO members. “For Putin a Window of Opportunity is increasingly opening” Wüstner said. “With fresh revenue from oil sales and with Ukraine’s air‑defence supply declining, he could intensify brutal attacks on infrastructure and civilians”. He added that the impression of unsettled allies across the Atlantic could embolden Putin to strengthen hybrid attacks, and that incursions along NATO’s eastern flank below the Article 5 threshold are also possible.
Wüstner urged the German government to consider training Ukrainian soldiers on the Taurus missile system. “Even outside actual combat, this serves as a deterrent and lends credibility to diplomatic efforts for a cease‑fire with Russia” he explained.
He also called for a much faster pace of arming the Bundeswehr, even preparing a form of war economy in Germany. “The defense industry must raise its production capacity more quickly than before, ideally shifting to a multi‑shift operation, and together with the federal government develop a “kick‑down” strategy so that further escalation can trigger a war‑economy” he said. He added that Eastern Europeans are already in a pre‑war phase, rapidly strengthening their defensive capabilities, and that Germany must do the same now.
