Security threatened – German minister: Russia provokes in the Baltic Sea

“We have had repeated incidents in the Baltic Sea that resulted in warning shots in the air and warning shots in the water,” Pistorius told Deutschlandfunk on Thursday. The presence of the Russian Navy and civilian ships is increasing significantly. The Chinese navy is also present from time to time.

This shows “the strategic importance of the Baltic Sea for many, especially for Russia and China, also in terms of avoiding sanctions,” the minister said. Pistorius compared this behavior to airborne incidents in which unidentified Russian fighter jets took to the skies over the Baltic states to test how NATO would respond.

No comment on incident with Russian ship
When asked, Pistorius did not comment on an incident that became known on Wednesday between a German Bundeswehr helicopter and a Russian ship. According to information from the dpa, the crew of the Russian ship fired signal ammunition. The use of this ammunition is actually only common in emergency situations. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pointed out that there are always ships in the Baltic Sea involved in evading sanctions as a result of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

On the issue of a possible escalation, Pistorius said that the German Navy and the Allied Navy were behaving very cautiously. “They record the incidents, they report them, they respond with de-escalation measures and do not show provocative behavior, because that is the last thing we need.”

During a speech in the Bundestag, the SPD politician warned on Thursday about the growing military threat from Russia. “Russia has completely converted to a war economy and supplies the army with 1,000 to 1,500 tanks every year. “That is about twice as much as the five largest European countries combined,” Pistorius said. “It is clear to us: Russia is the greatest threat to our security and will remain so for the foreseeable future.”

The outgoing German government has submitted three bills to parliament. These include an article law intended to pave the way for better pay for soldiers and civilian staff when a brigade is permanently stationed in Lithuania. The law on the coalition agreement that was concluded on this subject was also presented.

Work for foreign powers would require approval
A third law is also intended to make it a criminal offense for former soldiers to work for a so-called foreign power – such as Russia or China – if this has not been approved in advance. “That has never happened before. The law is urgently needed,” Pistorius said. “In this way we prevent highly specialized former members of the Bundeswehr from being specifically recruited with lucrative offers for their own purposes.”