German Defence Minister Cites 'Russia's Behaviour' to Justify Boosting Military Spending

In a Saturday interview, Kramp-Karrenbauer said that higher military spending met Germany's security interests and was never about "doing the United States a favour."

"We must take care of our own security. Challenges are growing — with new technologies, in the form of hybrid threats, but also at the regional level, for example, taking into account the behaviour of Russia", the minister stated, also mentioning challenges related to "systemic confrontation with China".

The hybrid threat, she went on, is probably the biggest.

"Because it is about attacks that are also carried out from within. Not least, Germany is especially often in the focus of attacks that could be linked to Russia. If we want to live in safety and prosperity, we must invest in our security," the defence chief argued.

Western countries regularly accuse Russia of interfering in their internal affairs, a claim that is firmly denied by Moscow as unsubstantiated. According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, NATO is using an alleged Russian threat to justify its military buildup near the country's borders and deflect public attention from acute domestic issues.