Germany's intelligence chief warns of Russia's possible invasion and gives timeline
Photo: Bruno Kahl (Getty Images)
Russia poses a direct military threat to Germany. An armed clash is possible by 2030, according to Bruno Kahl, head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service.
“The Russian armed forces should be able to strike at NATO by the end of this decade at the latest,” Kahl says at a hearing at the Bundestag's parliamentary oversight committee.
According to him, the Kremlin views the West, and Germany in particular, as an enemy. Germany is the second largest supporter of Ukraine.
The chances are high that NATO will invoke its mutual defense clause at some point, Kahl adds.
Putin is seeking to expand the Kremlin's sphere of influence in Europe and push US military forces off the continent, as US defense spending exceeds that of the European Union, the intelligence chief says.
“We are in a confrontation with Russia,” Kahl says, adding that Vladimir Putin is not just concerned with Ukraine, but creating a new world order.
Kahl's assessment is in line with other European officials who see Russia as a more ominous threat after a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned this year that Russia could attack the NATO alliance within five to eight years.
The EU's candidate for the bloc's first-ever defense commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, echoed this prediction, saying the region needs to build up its military forces for a possible confrontation with Russia in six to eight years.
