BERLIN

Germany on Tuesday warned Friday that Russia could be capable of launching a large-scale attack on NATO territory.

"I do not want to speculate on how great the danger is that Russian President Vladimir Putin would use a ceasefire to put himself in a position to attack NATO territory even more quickly.

"I can only advise us to prepare ourselves for the possibility that this could happen,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told German Press Agency (dpa).

This would be achieved by building up security structures in NATO and restructuring the German Armed Forces in terms of personnel and equipment to create an army that is once again fully capable of defending the country and the NATO alliance, he added.

No compromises on national and alliance defense

Wadephul called for stepped-up efforts when it comes to German and NATO military capabilities in light of a likely Russian attack.

“There is no reason for us to reduce our efforts. Quite the contrary. I can only strongly advise against making any compromises in all these projects and plans, because only a position of strength will lead to greater security for us in NATO and also for us in Germany,” the foreign minister said.

If the Russian army were to achieve lasting military success in Ukraine, “this would pose a serious threat to NATO,” warned the minister. For this reason alone, he said, supporting Ukraine remains in Germany's own security interests.

“The more stable the peace situation in Ukraine is, the sooner Ukraine will be able to protect its own interests, and the better it will be for Europe as a whole,” he said.

Wadephul’s remarks followed an earlier warning by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said in mid-November that Russia would be capable of attacking a NATO member state in the east once it had rebuilt its armed forces.

“We have always said that this could be the case from 2029,” Pistorius said.

Last month, Germany’s top operational commander, Lt. Gen. Alexander Sollfrank, unveiled “Operation Plan Germany,” a new national defense plan aligned with NATO’s regional strategy, as the country’s blueprint for deterrence.

The plan organizes how up to 800,000 allied troops could move through Germany within 180 days to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank in case of an imminent war.