Boris Pistorius

Germany's government named Boris Pistorius as defence minister on Tuesday at a time of mounting pressure on Berlin from Western allies to allow Ukraine to ...

"I want to make the armed forces strong for the time ahead," he said. Scholz has signalled a policy shift by promising to boost defence spending to more than 2% of its economic output. In May, he said Russian sympathisers must not glorify the war on German streets. Other countries with such tanks also need Berlin's approval before they can be passed on to another country. military base in Ramstein on Western plans to provide Kyiv with more arms. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Scholz hailed Pistorius as an 'extremely experienced politician,' highlighting an apparent shortcoming of the minister who resigned.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is expected in Berlin on Thursday — Pistorius’ first official day in office — to discuss increased military support for Ukraine. Friday’s Ramstein meeting will also focus on battle tanks for the invaded country. The expectation, however, is that Germany should also join a broader alliance of European countries that would collectively send a contingent of such Western tanks. [a government crisis](https://www.politico.eu/article/christine-lambrecht-resignation-german-defense-minister-ukraine-war-tank-decision/) sparked by last week’s news of Lambrecht’s intention to resign, which followed a series of gaffes and failures. In 2019, he was an opponent of Scholz in the election for a new SPD chairmanship, which both lost. Having served in Germany’s Bundeswehr prior to his law studies, Pistorius also has some military background.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz named Boris Pistorius the country's new defense minister on Tuesday after the abrupt resignation of the former minister.

[resigned Monday](https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2023/01/16/germany-defense-minister-resigns-after-criticism/2581673893732/) after some in the armed forces and others criticized her leadership. [Ukraine](https://www.upi.com/topic/Russia-Ukraine-War/) and military in need of upgrades. [no experience in the military field](https://www.dw.com/en/boris-pistorius-to-become-germanys-new-defense-minister-reports/a-64418604) but worked to bring in young recruits and improve citizen outreach for the police force in Lower Saxony.

Boris Pistorius, a Social-Democrat politician who is currently interior minister for the state of Lower Saxony, will become Germany's new defense minister, ...

Some 12,000 of members of the Iranian diaspora met from all over Europe on January 16 in the EU Parliament host city of Strasbourg to urge the bloc to list Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terror group. WATCH: Hundreds came to bid farewell to a popular boxing coach on January 17 in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. [Live Briefing](https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-crisis-crosshairs-live-briefing/31668477.html) gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. "Our country is very clear that the participation of Serbian citizens in all conflicts in other countries is prohibited, and this entails legal consequences," he said. and Ukrainian military officers met for the first time at a secret location in southeastern Poland as Kyiv pressed the need for increased supplies of Western arms in its defense against Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Arestovych announced the move on January 17, three days after he said on YouTube that a residential building in Ukraine’s eastern city of Dnipro was likely hit by debris from a Russian missile after it was struck in the sky by Ukrainian air defenses. They all fled Belarus in the wake of a deadly crackdown on mass protests against the official results of the August 2020 presidential poll, which Lukashenka claims he won. A Bishkek court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison after convicting him of involvement in the killing of almost 100 protesters during the unrest. Norway's National Criminal Investigation Service, which takes part in the investigation of war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court, said it was in contact with Andrei Medvedev and his Norwegian lawyer and "would like to conduct an interrogation of him in the near future. and "Death to the dictator!," a reference to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on January 17 she backed listing Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization to respond to the "trampling" of "fundamental human rights" in the country. "I am very pleased to have won an outstanding politician from our country for the post of defense minister in Boris Pistorius," Chancellor Olaf Scholz was quoted as saying in the statement issued by spokesman Steffen Seibert.

Boris Pistorius, Germany's new defence minister, is an unknown on the world stage but he is an experienced politician with credentials in security and a ...

However, he was also critical of calls to destabilise Russia, adding: “There will have to come a time after the war... “The recapture of occupied territories is legitimate and completely correct and must also be supported by us. Der Spiegel noted that he is “the most visible” of the state interior ministers, and is “well connected with the security authorities”.

Boris Pistorius is surprise pick for role as he has a low profile in Germany and is little known internationally.

Pistorius will be expected to show expediency over acquiring new equipment and to sort out chronic issues such as a shortage of ammunition and faults in existing equipment. His biography indicates time spent doing his military service in the early 1980s, but otherwise he is not believed to have any military experience or expertise. The German Armed Forces Association and the Reservist Association urged Scholz to choose the candidate with the “best leadership competence”. During talks in Davos with Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, Habeck reportedly pledged further German support and help for Ukraine, including the transfer of more weapons. Other countries in possession of the German-designed tanks need the permission of Berlin before they are able to be dispatched to another country. Pistorius is a member of the chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic party, but his appointment by Scholz came as a surprise, not least because he has a low profile in Germany and is little known internationally.