Survey: Every second German fears Russian attack

(Patria) - Every second German fears a Russian attack, according to the latest survey conducted for the local Bild by the INSA agency.

Of 1,001 respondents, 46 percent said they fear a Russian attack, 44 percent said they do not fear it, while the rest did not answer, Hina reports.

Surprisingly, Bild points out, left-wing voters, 55 percent of them, and CDU voters, 54 percent of them, are the most fearful. AfD sympathizers fear war the least.

Bild asked people if they had prepared for war by stocking up on basic necessities.

Sweden and Norway recently issued such calls to their citizens. According to the survey results, 39 percent of Germans have done so, and 56 percent have not.

The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) has long recommended stocking up on food, water, hygiene items, first-aid kits, and basic camping equipment.

One in six respondents stated that they know where to seek shelter in case of an attack. This is likely due to the nearly 600 remaining air-raid shelters in Germany, none of which are currently ready for use, Bild writes, adding that the maintenance of shelters in Germany was discontinued in 2007.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) warned last week of the possibility of Russia attacking NATO countries.

- We almost daily hear threats from the Kremlin, currently increasingly directed against our friends in the Baltic states.

We must reckon with the possibility that Vladimir Putin could also attack NATO member states - Pistorius stated in an interview with the daily Tagesspiegel.

Pistorius, who took over as Defense Minister a year ago, added that military experts believe such an attack is not currently probable, but rather in "five to eight years".

He reiterated his desire to prepare the German armed forces for a possible military conflict.

- I want to shake up society and point out that we must make the Bundeswehr ready - Pistorius stated.

He emphasized that the current austerity plan of the federal Social Democratic-Green-Liberal government should not affect the modernization plans of the Bundeswehr.

- Given the current level of danger, we must urgently increase the readiness of our armed forces for defense - he stressed, and explained the need for further aid to Ukraine:

"It must be clear to everyone that if Putin wins this war, it increases the danger to Germany as well."