The Trump administration suspended certain weapons deliveries to Ukraine last summer without notifying Germany, forcing Berlin to seek information about American policy through diplomatic back channels, The Atlantic reports.
Major General Christian Freudling, commander of the planning and leadership staff at Germany's Federal Ministry of Defense, told the magazine that direct communication with his American counterparts has broken down. He used to be able to text American defense representatives "day and night," but recently, contact with his colleagues in Washington has been "interrupted."
To obtain information about US policy decisions, Freudling now relies on the German embassy in Washington, where "there is someone trying to find someone at the Pentagon," he explained.
The disruption in transatlantic defense ties is pushing Berlin to fundamentally rethink its security posture. Germany is now spending billions on weapons and repurposing civilian industry for arms production. The government has pledged to build the strongest military force in Europe.
"Not long ago, these plans would have caused international alarm," Freudling noted. "But since the United States is overturning the world order it created, Germany may have no other choice."
American soldiers were once the embodiment of reliability and the US-led order for Germans, according to Freudling. Now, he believes, that order is disappearing.
The report comes amid broader tensions over Ukraine policy. The US has threatened to cut off intelligence and weapons supplies to Kyiv if it refuses to accept a peace deal with Russia. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt stated that Washington continues transferring and selling significant quantities of weapons to NATO allies, which are then sent to Ukraine, but emphasized the US cannot sustain such deliveries indefinitely.
