German Def Minister: War with Russia may start in next 5-8 years

Germany's Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, said he expects a war with Russia in the next five to eight years. To prepare for the conflict, he wants to revive conscription and take people without FRG passports into the army, Azernews reports.

"We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day - most recently against our friends in the Baltic states. So we have to take into account that Vladimir Putin will one day attack NATO countries. Our experts expect this to be possible within five to eight years," Pistorius told Tagesspiegel.

His office intends to take measures to prepare for a conflict. Pistorius also wants to open recruitment in the Bundeswehr to recruits without a German passport. "We are not the first army in Europe to do this," the minister said.

Mr. Pistorius also outlined plans to improve the efficiency of Germany's military-industrial complex and said the country had reached its limits in providing aid to Ukraine.

"We cannot go va-bank, as some people demand. Otherwise, we will become defenseless," the minister said, asking EU partners to increase support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.