Germany has sacked the army chief after his comments on Russia’s military capabilities

New German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius sacked army chief of staffsources close to the ministry said after the latter made controversial comments about the capabilities of the Russian armed forces.

The general Eberhard Zorn He will be replaced by German army general Carsten Breuer, the sources said, without specifying the reasons for the decision.

In September, Zorn, in office since 2018, He expressed concern about the Ukrainians’ ability to defeat the Russian army and feared that Moscow would open a new front in Ukraine.

“Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea, the Finnish border, Georgia, Moldova… The possibilities are endless. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would have the capabilities“, he said in an interview with the German weekly Focus. He also justified Berlin’s reluctance to hand over the heavy weapons that Ukraine is demanding.

According to him, Ukraine is carrying out “counter-attacks, with the help of which it can regain places on the front, but can’t hold off Russia on a broad front”.

These statements were criticized at home and abroad, notably by a retired American general, Ben Hodges, who led the American army in Europe. He replied that it was a “surprisingly poor analysis of Russian capabilities that sadly reflects much of German ‘elite’ thinking”, as stated on his Twitter account.

Zorn was appointed to the post in 2018 by conservative Ursula von der Leyen, then defense minister.

the lieutenant general Carsten Breuer will replace Zorn as “Inspector General” of the German Armed Forces, as the position is called, he is the highest-ranking serviceman in the country, the agency reported dpa.

Breuer, who will also be a senior policymaker at the Ministry of Defense and military adviser to the Chancellor, has become a familiar face amid the coronavirus pandemic, due to his role as head of the COVID-19 crisis cell.

The current defense minister took office in mid-January this year, having replaced Christine Lambrecht in power, who has been embroiled in several controversies amid debate over whether Berlin should send tanks most modern in Ukraine.

(With information from AFP and Europa Press)

Continue reading: