Russia has denounced Berlin’s militarization campaign as a ploy to distract the public from internal problems
Germany is drawing up a law that would force former soldiers to attend regular military exercises, as Berlin pushes ahead with its militarization campaign, Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday. Moscow has denounced the EU’s military buildup as aimed against Russia, and a ploy to distract the public from deepening domestic crises.
According to the draft Reserve Strengthening Act seen by the German outlet, all men and women who have performed less than one year of voluntary military service and are under 45 will be required to take part in military exercises either two weeks a year or every two years.
Those who served for more than a year, or who enlisted as career or temporary soldiers, could be compelled to participate until the age of 65, the paper says.
The explanatory memorandum to the bill states that mandatory drills are urgently needed to ensure the “reliable availability of reserves” to safeguard national security.
The proposed bill is the latest move in Germany’s sweeping military buildup, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowing last year to turn the Bundeswehr into “the strongest conventional army in Europe.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has set a goal of 265,000 active troops and 200,000 reservists by the mid-2030s, while Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday that the government will spend more than 4% of the country’s GDP on defense this year. Germany’s total military spending in 2026 will stand at around €108 billion ($125 billion), up from €86 billion in 2025.
Germany has justified the costly militarization campaign by citing Russia and claiming that Moscow will remain “the greatest security threat for Europe” for the foreseeable future. Germany and other EU countries have also speculated that Russia could attack NATO in Europe within several years – a claim dismissed by Moscow as “nonsense.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the EU’s militarization drive will only destabilize the continent, stressing that Moscow views it as “aggressive” posturing. Russia has also accused European governments of using propaganda to turn it into a “model external enemy” to justify the continent’s internal problems.
