German army leaders are drawing up plans for how to support thousands of American soldiers and refuel their tanks as they move toward NATO’s eastern front. This is what emerges from a secret document cited by The Telegraph, outlining Germany’s preparation for war.
In an interview with German newspaper Faz, Bundeswehr Lieutenant General André Bodemann said the army was developing a new long-term security plan with a focus on civil protection.
Most of the details of the planning are a state secret, but the senior officer revealed that part of the planning process involves the logistics of sustaining large numbers of American soldiers, with the main contribution being civilians.
Bodemann explained that ”if, for example, an American division moved eastward, thousands of tanks, thousands of soldiers would need to be fed and the tanks refueled or possibly repaired.”
The senior officer then underlined that ”we would need the maximum contribution from the civil service”. He also mentions that ”the Red Cross would provide medical assistance and the food would come from a civilian catering service. This would be the classic case”. General Bodemann’s statements are further demonstration of the fact that Germany is becoming ”kriegstüchtigteit”, i.e. ”ready for war” in the face of a potential armed conflict with Russia within the next five years.
Analysis: “Chasiv Yar still crucial”
Russian forces are seeking “tactical gains” northwest of Avdiivka, but the main offensive operation, and the one most likely to succeed, is still Chasiv Yar. He wrote it the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Chasiv Yar is located in Donetsk Oblast, about 10 kilometers west of Bakhmut and 50 kilometers north of Avdiivka, cities taken over by Russia in May 2023 and February 2024, respectively.
According to Kiev, Russian forces have concentrated their efforts near Khasiv Yar, which they consider crucial for further advances towards the nearby cities of Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. The American think tank said that while it is possible that Russian forces could make some gains northwest of Avdiivka, an offensive in the area is “unlikely to result in an operationally significant penetration, let alone the collapse of Ukrainian defense west of Avdiivka”.
The operation to take Chasiv Yar has the greatest near-term potential to be an operational victory for Russian forces, the ISW added. The capture of Chasiv Yar would represent an opportunity for Russia to “launch subsequent offensive operations against cities that form an important Ukrainian defense belt in Donetsk Oblast.”
Moscow: “Kiev soldiers hit in Kharkiv, attack on Balakleya station”
Meanwhile, Russian armed forces attacked the Balakleya railway station in the Izyum district of the Kharkiv region while Ukrainian armed forces personnel were getting off a train. The head of the Nikolaiv metro, Sergei Lebedev, reported this to Ria Novosti.
“The attack was launched yesterday at 4.40 pm at the Balakleya railway station – added the official – when a train with Ukrainian military personnel arrived. It is not known how many dead and injured there are, many ambulances arrived, everything was cordoned off.”