Germany’s cabinet has approved a new voluntary military service after a last-minute dispute within the ruling coalition about the need for a more ambitious model.
Defence minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday that the international security situation, especially “Russia’s aggressive behaviour”, made the plan to recruit up to 40,000 teenagers a year essential.
Speaking after a special cabinet session held in a secure bunker at the defence ministry, Pistorius said boosting the size of the country’s armed forces was as vital as the huge German rearmament drive that began after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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