US defense contacts have stopped, according to the Bundeswehr’s Christian Freuding, as Berlin accelerates a major military buildup
Communications between the Pentagon and the German Defense Ministry have been sharply reduced, the Atlantic has reported, citing German Lieutenant General Christian Freuding.
After years of being able to contact American defense officials “day and night,” Freuding, who had been in charge of the German Defense Ministry’s Ukraine unit and has now been named the next chief of the army, says communications have now been “cut off, really cut off.”
As an example, Freuding recalled that when the administration of US President Donald Trump abruptly halted weapon shipments to Ukraine earlier this year, Berlin received no warning of the move. The officer said he now relies on diplomats in Washington to “find somebody in the Pentagon” for basic information about US policy.
His comments come as Washington has moved to reduce its direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict and in Europe in general, urging NATO members to play a bigger role in their defense.
While Freuding expressed concern over the US winding down activity on the continent, Germany has continued a military buildup, with Berlin expanding weapons production, accelerating procurement programs, and approving long-term borrowing to support militarization.
German officials have insisted on turning the Bundeswehr into the strongest conventional force in Europe by 2029, citing warnings from Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and other officials who claim Russia could attack NATO in the coming years.
Moscow has vehemently rejected those claims as unfounded, stating that Western governments are deliberately using the threat of Russian aggression to stoke fears and justify rapid militarization and record military budgets across the EU.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of attempting to transform Germany into “the main military machine of Europe,” stating that Berlin and the broader EU are sliding into what he has described as a “Fourth Reich.”
The Kremlin has also stressed that while Russia does not seek a military conflict with NATO, it could be forced to take retaliatory measures to ensure its security in response to the bloc’s increasingly “militaristic” rhetoric.
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