Germany plans to increase its troop numbers

(Patria) - German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated yesterday that the country could increase the number of its armed forces to 203,000, as NATO seeks to increase forces after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The German armed forces currently have about 180,000 uniformed soldiers, reports RSE.

"We plan to increase the number of uniformed personnel to 203,000, and we are likely heading towards 230,000 due to NATO's goals," Pistorius said addressing parliament in Berlin, Reuters reports.

NATO needs to agree on new "more demanding goals" for the number of allied forces and weapons in 2025.

Reuters agency states that the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz increased military spending after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, bringing it, for the first time in recent decades, to a level consistent with NATO goals.

According to these reports, the question is how to maintain such spending. Budget disputes have collapsed Scholz's three-party coalition, leading to early elections in Germany.

Scholz lost confidence in the Bundestag on December 16, creating the conditions for holding early elections in the most populous EU member state.

The German Chancellor led a minority government after his three-party coalition collapsed on November 6, after he dismissed the finance minister with whom he had a dispute over how to revitalize the stagnating German economy.

Leaders of several major parties then agreed that parliamentary elections would be held on February 23, 2025, seven months earlier than originally planned.