The Russian invasion The world's response

German defense plan is being hammered out – opens up for new conscription

The German parliament is expected to approve a bill today that aims to strengthen recruitment for the armed forces – a response to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. At the same time, activists opposing the proposal blocked a defense building in Cologne, Die Welt reports.

Part of the proposal is that the country can reintroduce mandatory conscription if the voluntary system is not enough. This overturns the decision from 2011 to pause conscription.

According to Bloomberg, the goal is to increase the number of soldiers by 180,000 people to around 460,000. At least 260,000 of these should be active soldiers and 200,000 reservists, according to the proposal.

According to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, a strong defense is about deterrence.

– It is not about sending someone to the front, quite the opposite, he says in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio.

The plan for a peace force lacks popular support in Europe

Plans that soldiers from other European countries could be sent to Ukraine after a peace agreement is in place are facing opposition from voters in some parts of Europe, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The United States seems willing to support a European force that will deter future Russian aggression after the war, but at home the plan is facing popular resistance. Eastern European countries do not want to move soldiers from their own borders and in countries such as Germany, Poland and Italy the memory of the Second World War echoes.

In Germany in particular, sceptical voices have been raised, the newspaper writes. According to a recent poll, 56 percent of Germans are against contributing soldiers – an increase since last spring