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German army lacks personnel, vehicles equipment — parliamentary report

The Bundeswehr had a total of 181,514 personnel at the end of 2023

BERLIN, March 12. /TASS/. German parliamentary defense commissioner Eva Hoegl has said that there is a shortage of logistical resources for the armed forces against the backdrop of aid to Ukraine.

"The Bundeswehr, unfortunately, lacks everything. There is not enough ammunition, spare parts, radios, tanks, ships and airplanes," Hoegl told the media in Berlin while presenting a report on the condition of the armed forces in 2023. She kept quiet about detailed statistics and calculation methods. At the same time, she said, the situation is improving. Hoegl recalled that the multi-billion special fund for the modernization of the army was being used up. At the moment about two-thirds or 66 billion euros, has been distributed with contracts signed.

"As for personnel, I have nothing new and positive to tell you," she added. The armed forces are shrinking and the average age - 33.8 years - is growing, she said. The Bundeswehr had a total of 181,514 personnel at the end of 2023. "More than 20,000 vacancies are not occupied, that's about 17.6%," Hoegl said.

"Regarding support for Ukraine, the Bundeswehr has been doing an outstanding job on this track for the past two years. The handover of [materiel] means that the Bundeswehr itself has less. Many items are already in short supply. Since Germany started sending [support] to Ukraine, the available resources and supplies have dwindled," she said. Hoegl argues that the military itself supports supplies to Ukraine "even if that creates a gap in their material stocks and training capabilities."

At the end of February 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the creation of a 100-billion-euro special fund for the upgrade of the Bundeswehr. The money is to be used for investment and armaments projects. In particular, this concerns the purchase of new equipment, ammunition and vehicles. According to German experts, no significant improvement of the material and technical base of the country's armed forces has yet been achieved.

In 2024, Germany's defense spending will reach 2% of the GDP.

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