13 Jan 2023, 22:58Updated at: 14 Jan 2023, 03:01

German defense minister decides to resign, date unknown – Bild

The dismissal initiative comes from Christine Lambrecht, the source said

BERLIN, January 14. /TASS/. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, who was heavily criticized over the past few months for the current state of the German armed forces, has made the decision to resign, the Bild newspaper reported on Friday citing own sources.

"It was her initiative, not of the Chancellor’s office," the report says. "The date of the resignation remains unknown. Consultations on who is to succeed her are under way."

The newspaper said Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces of Germany Eva Hogl may be appointed to the post. No other details are known.

The German government’s press service said it was not commenting on the reports.

"We are not commenting on that," a spokesperson replied to a TASS request for a comment.

Over the past months, Lambrecht was criticized for poor acquisition and logistics of the German armed forces. Popularity ratings of German politicians put her in the 20th place. A few days ago, the German government reported that Lambrecht still had the chancellor’s confidence.

The latest round of criticism was sparked by the minister’s New Year address, released on social networks. The speech was recorded with New Year's Eve firecrackers in the background, and some fragments of it were inaudible. The media also criticized some of her remarks for being improper and tone-deaf. Among other things, the minister said that there was "a war raging in the middle of Europe," and she had "very many special impressions" associated with that, such as "encounters with interesting and great people.".

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Yesterday, 08:30

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