Huge WW3 alert as NATO power 'no longer at peace' with Russia

Germany's chancellor has warned that Europe and Russia are "no longer at peace" in a bombshell speech. Friedrich Merz was attending a media event in Düsseldorf, when he made his alarming comments.

The German leader has been one of Europe's most outspoken critics of Vladimir Putin since taking over the reigns of his country. He has constantly warned about the threats posed to European security by the warmongering Kremlin boss. His government is investing billions of euros in the country's military and defence sector in a bid to meet the new challenges posed by an ever more aggressive Russia.

The German chancellor did not pull his punches when addressing the Düsseldorf conference, outlining the stark future faced by the West.

"Let me put it in a sentence that may be a little shocking at first glance ... we are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either," he said.

He added that Russia was waging a "war against our democracy and a war against our freedom", as it sought to undermine EU unity.

In the past, the German politician has often spoken out about Putin's attempts to destabilise Europe through sabotage, spies and assassinations, as well as running disinformation campaigns. He is also in favour of using frozen Russian financial assets in the West to unlock a €140 billion EU loan to help Ukraine defend itself.

In a recent article for the Financial Times, he wrote that the EU could make the money available to Kyiv as an interest-free loan "without intervening in property rights".

He explained the money would only be repaid "once Russia has compensated Ukraine for the damage it has caused during this war".

Helping Ukraine in this way would "systematically and massively raise the costs of Russia's aggression".

EU leaders have been reluctant to sanction such a move, worried that this could undermine confidence in the euro as a reserve currency.

Meanwhile, Germany's Defence Minister said Berlin was ready to protect the Baltic region with an influx of troops.

Boris Pistorius told a conference in Lithuania that Germany would have roughly 2,000 of its troops stationed in the country by mid-2026.