Bloomberg: Germany is preparing hospitals for a possible Russian attack on NATO. Its military says as many as 1,000 wounded troops could need care each day.
Government agencies across Germany are inspecting the country’s infrastructure and health care system to assess how well they could function under martial law, according to Bloomberg.
In a report modeling possible scenarios for a Russian attack on NATO, the Bundeswehr estimated that Germany could receive as many as 1,000 wounded service members a day. The country’s five military hospitals would quickly become overwhelmed. Civilian hospitals are required to provide wartime care, putting the health care system under unprecedented strain, Bloomberg notes.
The government’s challenges reportedly include finding enough hospital beds, strengthening medical supply chains, and improving coordination between military and civilian hospitals.
Training enough medical personnel is another pressing challenge. Only a few hundred doctors in Germany have experience treating combat trauma and gunshot wounds. Civilian surgeons are now being offered specialized courses.
Private companies in the health care sector are concerned that their employees could be called up as reservists or volunteer for military service — affecting as many as 20% of their workers in some regions. The companies are also considering how to maintain uninterrupted production of critical medicines if demand surges and assessing whether adequate physical security measures are available.
Germany has seen a surge in hybrid attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to Bloomberg. One of the latest incidents involved the discovery of a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig Airport near a Ukrainian cargo plane. Germany blamed Russia for the sabotage and responded by closing the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin. Russia responded by closing the Goethe-Institut.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said Russia could start a war with NATO in 2029, though some analysts believe it could happen even sooner. In that event, Germany would be obligated to defend the alliance and, because of its geographic location, would likely become a key transit hub for military personnel, according to Bloomberg.
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