German special forces preparing for war with Russia – commander

The elite KSK unit was previously embroiled in far-right extremism controversies that led to the disbandment of one of its companies in 2020 Germany’s elite special forces are preparing for a potential large-scale war with Russia, the unit’s commander told Bild. The remarks come amid tensions between Moscow and NATO over the Ukraine conflict, with German officials warning that the armed forces must be ready for a confrontation by the end of the decade. The highly secretive unit, known as Kommando Spezialkrafte (KSK), is comparable to Britain’s SAS or the US Green Berets. According to a report from its base in southwestern Germany published on Monday, the commandos are adjusting their training to counter Russian forces equipped with tanks, artillery, drones, and electronic warfare capabilities, including in extreme cold.

“We are orienting ourselves very specifically toward the adversary Russia,” KSK Commander Brigadier General Andreas Kuhne said, adding that his soldiers would have to be prepared to “remain in the field much longer,” potentially “with no end in sight,” if war broke out. Kuhne also said the unit is preparing to carry out missions before conventional German forces enter combat. “When the 45th Armored Brigade in Lithuania starts its engines in a real emergency, we want to have already completed our job,” he told Bild. According to the newspaper, only around a third of the KSK’s 1,500 personnel are commandos, while the rest serve in administrative and support roles. The unit has been rocked by a series of far-right extremism scandals in recent years. In 2017, an investigation was launched following reports that soldiers performed Nazi salutes and listened to far-right music, among other things. Germany misses Nazism – Lavrov In 2018, investigations exposed…