Wadephul: Russia poses a threat to life in Germany
Followed further severe attacks on Ukraine, the German foreign minister warned against underestimating the threat posed by Russia.
Kyiv (dpa/d.de) – Following the massive Russian air strikes on Ukraine overnight, Wadephul has warned that the threat Russia poses to Germany must not be underestimated. The Ukrainian air force had already warned yesterday evening that large parts of the country would face drone attacks. “Russia also poses a direct threat to our lives in peace and freedom in Germany.” The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine was and remained the biggest threat to security in Europe and the most important issue in German foreign policy, explained the foreign minister.
The NATO decisions taken in The Hague - the alliance agreed to increase defence spending to five percent of GDP - were “right and necessary,” said Wadephul. Russian President Vladimir Putin was attacking “the morale of the Ukrainian people with indiscriminate bombing. The freedom of Ukrainians is the most important test of our resolve as Europeans.”
Wadephul had travelled to the Jagel air force base near Flensburg on Saturday for Bundeswehr Day and was shown the Patriot air defence system there. With the Patriot systems, two of which are stationed close to the Polish city of Rzeszów not far from the Ukraine border, 200 Luftwaffe soldiers are protecting NATO’s eastern flank. Wadephul thanked the German soldiers for their service.
With Russia in mind, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz also warned on Saturday against a false sense of security in Germany. During a visit to the Bundeswehr’s operational command in Schwielowsee near Potsdam, he made reference to the ongoing Russian war of aggression and said: “We must not take our security for granted. We must do more to ensure that we can live in freedom, peace and security.”