Germany replaces head of armed forces

Accordingly, German Defense Minister Vladimir Pistorius appointed Major General Carsten Breuer as the new head of the German armed forces. Mr. Breuer managed Germany's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major General Carsten Breuer. Photo: DW

Mr Breuer, 59, will replace General Eberhard Zorn, 63, who was dismissed for his flawed analysis of the military capabilities of Russia and Ukraine. German media reported that Mr Zorn would be taking early retirement.

Mr. Breuer is best known for his role leading Germany's pandemic crisis response team from November 2021 to the end of 2022.

Mr Zorn was criticised after giving an interview in September in which he suggested Ukraine would not be able to resist attacks by Russian forces.

Ukraine is conducting "counter-offensives, which can regain individual positions or areas of the front line, but cannot push Russia back across a broad front," he told Focus magazine.

Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of the US Army in Europe, criticised Mr Zorn's "poor analysis of Russian capabilities" after he expressed concerns that Russia could expand on other fronts, possibly targeting "Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea, the Finnish border, Georgia and Moldova".

The replacement of Germany's top military official comes just months after former defence minister Christine Lambrecht was forced to resign and replaced by Mr Pistorius in January.

Mr Breuer will also serve as a decision-maker in the German Defense Ministry as well as a military adviser to Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

He will take up the top job in the Bundeswehr as Germany seeks to boost its military capabilities following Mr Scholz's announcement last year that it would invest 100 billion euros in its military.

Trung Kien (according to DW)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/duc-thay-nguoi-dung-dau-luc-luong-vu-trang-post239140.html