Russia aims to build military strength for new aggression in 5 years – Bundeswehr General

Major General Christian Freuding, Head of the Planning Staff and the Special Task Force for Ukraine at Germany's Federal Ministry of Defence, has stated that Germany sees signs that the Russian army is aiming to achieve capabilities by 2029 to conduct new aggression, including against NATO member states.

"We’re very clear that what is happening with Ukraine could happen with Germany’s Eastern neighbours as well," Freuding said in an interview with journalists in Kyiv.

Freuding emphasised that Russia is currently and will remain, in the foreseeable future, the greatest threat to Western Europe and Europe as a whole.

He explained that Russia is preparing to increase its military power and the size of its army.

"We know that by 2029, in five years from now, the Russian armed forces are aiming to achieve military capabilities that could enable them to conduct any kind of new aggression against NATO territory. We are fully aware of that, and our population is also becoming more and more aware of that," he said.

Freuding also mentioned that an additional meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group may take place in December, with one option being high-level talks.

The general also announced that Germany would deliver two more IRIS-T air defence systems to Ukraine by the end of 2024.