The mood forming across Europe about Moscow’s possible intentions is reflected in two interviews in German media: Germany’s defense minister states unequivocally that his country must prepare for the worst-case scenario regarding Russia, while France’s president Emmanuel Macron admits that Europe has underestimated Vladimir Putin.

“Germany must prepare for the worst-case scenario.” This is what Germany’s defense minister Boris Pistorius told the business newspaper Handelsblatt. Regarding recent drone flight incidents in Germany and other NATO countries in Europe, Pistorius believes that “the German army cannot intervene everywhere,” and that “it is far more decisive for the Länder police forces together with the federal police to develop the relevant capabilities, aiming to address threats at low altitudes.”

On strengthening the German defense industry, the German defense minister said the Merz government is considering greater state participation in critical defense industries, such as the tank manufacturer KDNS or in warshipbuilding at Thyssen-Krupp Marine.

However, he warned of a prevailing “gold-rush atmosphere” in the arms sector because of investments in defense and sounded the alarm about a new “inflation in the field of weapons systems.” In the same interview he also focused on the bill on military conscription in Germany, blaming the Christian Union for obstacles, sluggishness and “negligence.”

Macron: For too long we underestimated Russia

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung timed to the 35th anniversary of German reunification, French president Emmanuel Macron focuses on new threats to France, Germany and Europe as a whole.

“We are in a phase of rearmament. But for far too long we have underestimated Russia. Russia may be economically much weaker than Europe, its population shrinking and its industry not particularly innovative. Yet it produces weapons, and at a faster pace. We underestimated the threat. You cannot shift from a state of peace to a state of war overnight. We are in a state of continuous confrontation,” the French president says.

For him, “Russia is the greatest structural threat to Europeans. It endangers our collective security through interference in electoral campaigns, cyberattacks, assassinations of dissidents, and by using migration flows as leverage. Russia is testing our air defenses and has altered its nuclear doctrine.”

As he notes, “our open societies are vulnerable to information warfare,” and he adds among other things: “We would be naive not to recognize that the Russian secret army is spreading within our democracies. It is made up of those small, anonymous combatants called digital bots. They manipulate democracy in France, Germany and across Europe.”

On the scenario of possibly shooting down Russian fighter jets that violate European airspace, Emmanuel Macron remarks: “According to the doctrine of strategic ambiguity, I can tell you that nothing is excluded.”