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Germany Says Russian Moves Triggering Military Shift

Pro-Russian separatists in Uglegorsk, 6 kms southwest of Debaltseve, Ukraine, on Feb. 9, 2015.

Pro-Russian separatists in Uglegorsk, 6 kms southwest of Debaltseve, Ukraine, on Feb. 9, 2015.

Photographer: Dominique Faget/AFP via Getty Images
By
Birgit Jennen and Patrick Donahue

Germany’s defense chief said Russia’s use of unconventional military force to exploit its dominance over former Soviet states will have “far-reaching consequences” as Berlin shifts its security strategy in coming years.

Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Germany must adjust its response to Russia’s “hybrid conduct of war” in Ukraine. She spoke as German military and government officials began drafting a new blueprint of the nation’s geopolitical challenges, to be published in a “white book” next year.