The military commissioner, Eva Högl, complains about the alarming lack of equipment among the Bundeswehr soldiers, who are supposed to deter the Russian army in Lithuania.
Berlin – Against the background of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Bundestag Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, has expressed doubts about the operational readiness of the Bundeswehr. “The Bundeswehr’s cold start capability is not what it should be,” said Högl on Thursday (February 24, 2022) to the Phoenix TV station.
A restructuring of the Bundeswehr, which has been considered again and again, is now unavoidable, warned Högl. “We didn’t think it would happen so quickly, so brutally,” she admitted. The Commissioner for the Armed Forces expressed the expectation that Eastern European countries would ask Germany for more military assistance. Specifically, she named the Baltic States and possibly Romania. “I demand that the Bundeswehr is prepared, that it is equipped, outfitted and trained for this – and that is not yet the case in all areas,” Högl continued. If, for example, German soldiers in Lithuania lacked protection against the cold and wet, that was “not acceptable in one of the richest countries in the world”. This must also have an impact on the current budget deliberations.
Ukraine conflict: Bundeswehr leads a NATO unit in Lithuania to deter Russia
In an interview with the Augsburger Allgemeine, Högl then specifically addressed the situation of the Bundeswehr soldiers who are supposed to deter the Russian army at the Rukla military base in Lithuania. “The soldiers have to fight their way through forest and field, are out there for a long time,” said the military officer. “Several soldiers have told me that they do not have adequate protection against the cold and wet.”
When asked if there was a lack of winter jackets, she said: “Exactly, thick jackets, but also underwear. Everything you need to be well protected against cold and wet. And that shouldn’t really exist in one of the richest countries in the world, in the middle of Europe.”
However, the equipment is reserved for NATO’s rapid reaction force, she reported. This was “a scandal” that had already occupied her predecessors. “In Afghanistan, the soldiers didn’t have everything they needed. I experienced something similar in Mali and Niger. I’m quite shocked by this because I’ve always been told everything is there on the job.”
The Bundeswehr has been leading a NATO unit to deter Russia* at the Rukla military base in Lithuania since 2017 and has so far provided about half of the approximately 1200 soldiers. Due to the severe tensions in the Ukraine conflict, the Ministry of Defense had recently sent around 350 more soldiers to the partner country. (cs/dpa)
