Merz said the purpose of the bolstering the military would be to deter aggression.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is a country, a Germany and a Europe that are together so strong that we never have to use our weapons,\u201d the new chancellor added.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Merz vowed that Germany \u2014 Ukraine\u2019s second-biggest provider of military aid after the United States \u2014\u00a0would continue to back Kyiv. \u201cThere must be no doubt about where we stand,\u201d he said. \u201cNamely, unconditionally on the side of the Ukrainians.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merz also said that Germany was \u201cvery concerned about the growing closeness between Beijing and Moscow\u201d and that Berlin would make a strong case to China to play its part in resolving the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany has drastically increased military spending, though its armed forces \u2014 known as the Bundeswehr \u2014 remain in dire need of investment after years of post-Cold War disarmament and austerity.<\/p>\n
For Merz, following through on the promise to build Europe\u2019s largest conventional army won\u2019t be easy. General Carsten Breuer, Germany\u2019s top military commander,\u00a0told an audience<\/a>\u00a0at the German Council on Foreign Relations in April that Germany needs 100,000 additional troops \u201cas quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n