Fewer Germans buying into warnings of Russian attack – poll

The number of Germans who believe Russia may launch a military attack on their country has fallen sharply since last year, according to a recent poll.

In recent years, senior German officials have repeatedly claimed that Moscow could pose a direct military threat to NATO by the end of the decade.

In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung earlier this month, Germany’s top military officer, General Carsten Breuer, asserted that Russia could be ready for such a confrontation by 2029.

However, only 38% of Germans now consider an attack from Russia to be a plausible threat – down 14 percentage points from September of last year, Bild am Sonntag reported on Saturday, citing an INSA survey.

Half of respondents said they “are no longer afraid of a Russian attack at all,” according to the newspaper.

The poll also found that only 17% of those surveyed believe the German military would be capable of defending the country in the event of an attack, while 43% doubt the US would come to Berlin’s aid in such a scenario.

Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Germany launched a major rearmament drive, with defense spending projected to exceed €500 billion ($585 billion) by 2029.

Despite mounting economic challenges and a widening budget deficit, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to turn the Bundeswehr into the “strongest conventional army in Europe.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly dismissed claims that Moscow plans to attack NATO as “nonsense,” accusing European leaders of using the narrative to distract their citizens from domestic problems.

Commenting on Germany’s military buildup last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the country’s rearmament could trigger a global tragedy comparable to World War II.