Before Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Germany intended to help the Kremlin establish eight modern military training centers on Russian territory, reports The Telegraph, citing the book Failure – An Investigation into Germany’s Policy History Regarding Russia.
Source: Gazeta.UA
The plan, approved during Angela Merkel’s chancellorship, was estimated at approximately €1 billion. Under the plan, the Bundeswehr was to train Russian military personnel using Germany’s own combat experience. The project envisioned the construction of eight training grounds with modern equipment: laser guns, combat simulation systems, lecture halls, and electronic sensors, modeled on a training center near Magdeburg.
According to retired General Josef Niebeker, who served as a military advisor to Gerhard Schröder, the German political directive aimed to encourage Russia’s willingness to cooperate and to realize it within feasible limits.
The project was overseen by the defense company Rheinmetall, responsible for supplying equipment and technology. The book’s authors emphasize that the German government welcomed the idea of cooperation, despite the Kremlin’s aggressive policies. In 2011, then-Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière stated during a visit to Moscow: “We are interested in a modern, well-managed Russian army from a security policy perspective.”
However, the plan was never implemented: after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, cooperation was halted when it became clear that Russia was preparing for military expansion, not partnership.
Later, de Maizière admitted that he had serious doubts about the project’s feasibility but felt pressure from political, military, and industrial circles. Journalists note that the revealed facts contradict Merkel’s public statements, which previously attributed the failure of relations with Russia to Eastern Europe’s alleged unwillingness to “dialogue with Putin.”
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