72 percent of Germans doubt Bundeswehr defence in Insa poll as Wadephul calls Russia's Oreshnik strike 'missile terror'
An Insa poll for Bild am Sonntag found 72 percent of Germans believe the Bundeswehr could not adequately defend the country and only 17 percent believe it could; around two-thirds of the 1,005 respondents are concerned about cyberattacks, sabotage or disinformation, with conventional-attack worry down from a September 2025 majority to 38 percent. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called Russia's overnight Oreshnik strike on the Kyiv region "missile terror" and Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the "reckless escalation" the same weekend that a five-member Bundestag delegation led by Green MP Till Steffen landed in Taipei. Zelenskyy formally rejected Merz's proposal to grant Ukraine "associate" EU member status in a letter to Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, demanding full membership.
A new Insa survey for Bild am Sonntag found that 72 percent of Germans believe the Bundeswehr could not adequately defend the country, while only 17 percent believe it could. Conducted among 1,005 representative respondents on May 21-22, the poll showed that concern about a possible Russian attack has fallen from a majority position in September 2025 to 38 percent today, against 50 percent who say they are not worried. Concern is significantly higher on hybrid threats: around two-thirds said they are worried about cyberattacks, sabotage or disinformation affecting life in Germany, while just over one in five said they were not.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned what the federal government called the "reckless escalation" of Russia's overnight strike on the Kyiv region. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described the Russian salvo as "missile terror", calling the use of the Oreshnik intermediate-range missile a further escalation and citing the need to continue strengthening Ukraine; he discussed additional financial support for Ukraine with counterparts at a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Helsingborg. The studio of German broadcaster ARD in Kyiv was damaged in the same overnight attack, prompting condemnation from Germany's leading journalists' association.
A five-member Bundestag delegation led by Green Party lawmaker Till Steffen, chair of the Berlin-Taipei Parliamentary Circle of Friends, arrived in Taiwan to deepen parliamentary ties and is scheduled to meet President Lai Ching-te on Tuesday and former president Tsai Ing-wen. The group, which remains in Taipei until May 31, also includes CDU lawmakers Klaus-Peter Willsch and Markus Reichel, AfD MP Rainer Kraft and Mandy Eissing of the Left Party. Steffen told DPA that relations with Taiwan were "extremely important" to the Bundestag and that Taiwan was increasingly turning to Europe and Germany "amid waning support from the United States under the Trump administration", adding: "I would advise China not to interfere."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected Merz's proposal to give Ukraine "associate" membership status in the European Union. In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Antonio Costa, seen by DPA, Zelenskyy wrote that "it would be unfair for Ukraine to be present in the European Union but remain without a voice" and demanded full membership. Merz had argued in his own letter to the two EU leaders that the accession process could not be completed shortly given "countless hurdles" and proposed allowing Ukrainian officials to take part in EU summits and ministerial meetings without voting rights -- a proposal first reported by DW on May 23 alongside former chancellor Olaf Scholz's likely chairmanship of a new North-South Committee on Global South ties.