Germany is to reintroduce a limited form of military service, though the plan falls far short of the defence ministry’s original goal of restoring the system of conscription scrapped 13 years ago.
“Everyone must ask themselves what they’d be prepared to do if we were attacked,” said defence minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday. “The question is?.?.?. how do we secure our civilian life if war breaks out?”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted Germany to take a much more robust approach to defence, investing heavily in its armed forces and preparing to station an armoured brigade in Lithuania — its first permanent foreign deployment since the second world war.