Germany has announced a big shift in defence policy in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledging a jump in military spending and a revamp of the armed forces.

“With the invasion of Ukraine, we are in a new era,” he told a special session of the Bundestag on Sunday, where many MPs wore yellow and blue in solidarity with Ukraine.

For weeks, Scholz’s government has withstood fierce criticism from rivals and allies over its reluctance to take a more aggressive position towards Russia. But he said recent developments and his own conversations with Vladimir Putin had convinced him the Russian president aims to build a new Russian empire, and that the defence of peace and democracy in Europe must be bolstered.