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Germany, France Mapping Out Medical Response to Battlefield Casualties in Potential NATO-Russia War

Germany, France Mapping Out Medical Response to Battlefield Casualties in Potential NATO-Russia War

France has “revealed hospitals are preparing for 10,000–50,000 casualties by 2026.”

Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s feigned interest in a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine war during last month’s summit in Alaska with President Donald Trump, his subsequent actions make clear he has no interest in pursuing a settlement.

Since the meeting, Russian attacks on Ukraine have intensified, and a series of recent Russian jet and drone incursions into the airspace of NATO members Poland, Romania, and Estonia have deepened Western fears over the potential for a wider war — one Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long warned of.

Although Putin denies he is gearing up for a confrontation with NATO, he has repeatedly shown that his word is meaningless.

As dramatic as the prospect of war with Russia may seem, Reuters reports that Germany and France are already making plans for precisely that scenario. According to Reuters:

Germany’s armed forces are planning how to treat a potential 1,000 wounded troops per day should a large-scale conflict between NATO and Russia break out, and amid long-standing warnings by the alliance that Moscow could be capable of launching an attack from 2029.

Ukrainian soldiers describe the drone-infested corridor covering about 10 km either side of the frontline as the “kill zone” because remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) deployed by both sides can swiftly spot and neutralise targets.

Germany’s Surgeon General Ralf Hoffmann told Reuters, “The nature of warfare has changed dramatically in Ukraine. … The Ukrainians often cannot evacuate their wounded fast enough because drones are buzzing overhead everywhere.”

Hoffmann emphasized “the need for prolonged stabilization of injured soldiers – sometimes for hours – at the frontline.”

Hoffmann said flexible transport options were needed for wounded troops, noting Ukraine has used hospital trains. For this reason, the German military is looking at hospital trains and buses and expanding medical evacuation by air, he said.

The wounded would undergo initial treatment at the frontline, before being transported back to Germany for care predominantly in civilian hospitals, Hoffmann added.

He estimated a need for approximately 15,000 hospital beds from German hospitals’ total capacity of up to 440,000.

The German military’s 15,000-strong medical service would be expanded to meet future demands, he added.

Germany isn’t the only NATO country making preparations for a possible conflict with Russia. France has “revealed hospitals are preparing for 10,000–50,000 casualties by 2026.”

While a direct clash between NATO and Russia is not considered imminent, it is wiser to have a plan in place than to be caught off guard.

Following an extremely cordial meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, a reporter asked Trump if NATO members should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace.

“Yes, I do,” he replied.

Another reporter asked if Trump would back up our NATO allies if they were to do so.

He said, “It depends on the circumstance, but you know, we’re very strong toward NATO. NATO’s stepped up. When they went from 2% to 5%, that was great unity.”

In response to another question, Trump mocked the Russian president as a “paper tiger.”

During his morning address to the General Assembly, Trump indicated he had run out of patience with Putin. He said, “In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly.”

He stressed the need for NATO members to stop buying oil from Russia which he sees as helping to fund the war against Ukraine. “Europe has to step it up. They can’t be doing what they’re doing.”


Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.

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Comments

destroycommunism | September 24, 2025 at 11:07 am

nato-russia?

they best start with the afro -euro war first

destroycommunism | September 24, 2025 at 11:08 am

so if iran was bombed

why not the ussr?

if the ussr is a direct threat to the europeans as iran is to israel

why not a direct attack on the putin household?

Trump gave Putin a generous off-ramp. It was clear that he was signaling to Putin that he’d force concessions upon Ukraine to end the war. How does Putin respond? By embarrassing and mocking Trump. Not smart, which is evidenced by Trump’s significant shift in tone. Hopefully calmer heads will prevail. But, I think it’s folly to believe Putin is a rational actor.

    destroycommunism in reply to TargaGTS. | September 24, 2025 at 11:44 am

    if/since putin doesnt fear a direct hit by the usa on him/ussr

    why would he even consider trump/demands!?!

    euro is waiting for the usa to act and in fact trump has softened his stance towards Z

    unless attacked,,putin will win

Both Nations have created such a domestic mess that they would rather start world war 3 as a diversion for their people rather than face the reality of what they have done.
With no regard for the lives it would cost.
This is pure evil.

    TargaGTS in reply to snowshooze. | September 24, 2025 at 2:02 pm

    How should have Ukraine responded to Russia invading its sovereign territory including the indiscriminate bombings of plainly civilian targets like schools, apartments and hospitals? Trump tried to negotiate a peace where Ukraine cedes territory and Putin responded by hitting three different apartment buildings in Kiev hours after the Trump/Putin meeting in Alaska.

      Dolce Far Niente in reply to TargaGTS. | September 24, 2025 at 2:33 pm

      How do you feel Ukraine should have responded to the bombing *of their own citizens* in the so-called breakaway ethnic Russian provinces? This started shortly after Obama’s color revolution in 2014. 10,000 killed in the Donbas, maybe more?

      Ukraine is not blameless in starting this war, by not only refusing to consider sovereignty of the Donbas, but in waging war against them, long before Russia came into the picture.

        Thank you Victoria Nuland

        Add to that moves by Ukraine, signalling interest in joining NATO. A huge red scarf to the Russian Geopolitical bull.

        The entire West KNEW they’d find it intolerable. The US promised it would not allow it. or seek it.

        Especially since NATO had assured the new Russia that it would not expand NATO into Russian buffer states. I wonder if we should have encouraged the old Russian satellites to form their own mutual aide society, anchored by Poland, since the EU was turning Authoritarian and islamo-facist. Apparent then, worse now. Most of them want nothing to do with Socialism.

      CommoChief in reply to TargaGTS. | September 24, 2025 at 3:02 pm

      Ukraine allowed themselves to be used by neocons as a cats paw. They got left holding the soiled end of the stick. The best course for Ukraine is to cede the territory Russia has captured, end the killing and destruction. That’s the best they can hope for b/c Russia ain’t gonna give it up and ain’t gonna stop it’s advance until (IMO) they reach the natural boundary of the Dnieper.

    henrybowman in reply to snowshooze. | September 24, 2025 at 3:48 pm

    It’s the only way left to finesse the Social Security / National Debt bankruptcy problem

      CommoChief in reply to henrybowman. | September 24, 2025 at 4:58 pm

      Nah we’re gonna print our way out and debase the value of the dollar. We sure as Heck ain’t gonna stop deficit spending and the size of the national debt is too large/too much of a drag on the economy to grow our way out. A combo of the latter two is possible but the politicians don’t have the stones to take the heat generated by slashing spending. That’s part of the reason for surge in gold, silver and bitcoin; lots more folks (and most central banks) are increasing their holdings of PM and demand for US Treasury bills/bonds is falling.

        destroycommunism in reply to CommoChief. | September 24, 2025 at 5:21 pm

        when the timing is right for the leftist,, they will unfold some sort of new catastrophe that will make their covid19 look mild

        they proved they could control us even moreso then they do via the sdchools /msm etc

        they rigged the 2020 election

        they rig local elections ..even their own party calls them out at times on this

        b/c trump currently has the world begging us we havent had to reach for those 25 years of powder food supplies

        we dont have enough trump like pols to offset the century plus of lefty dominance

        the welfare state is growing,,even under trump ,, and he is the best potus we have had in a long long time

        you know it

        you might think that by not admitting to it you have to alter your way of life..you dont..I dont

        but it is what it is

irishgladiator63 | September 24, 2025 at 1:21 pm

Well. That’s one way to reduce your native population so that “guests” can take over.

People alive during Cuban Missile Crisis dont think duke city with Russians real good idea.

destroycommunism | September 24, 2025 at 2:10 pm

even nbc knows fjb created the mess:

During a 2020 presidential debate, then-candidate Joe Biden vowed that if elected, “I would transition from the oil industry.” Now in office, he has transitioned America’s economy away from the domestic U.S. oil industry while strengthening foreign oil industries. As a result, Biden played a part in emboldening Russian President Vladimir Putin’s murderous Ukraine invasion.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/biden-isnt-blameless-russias-invasion-ukraine-rcna22111

Dolce Far Niente | September 24, 2025 at 2:27 pm

NATO may attack Russia, but Russia won’t attack NATO.

    The Gentle Grizzly in reply to Dolce Far Niente. | September 24, 2025 at 10:56 pm

    And, by NATO, it likely means the Europeans launch the attack with the idea that the “NATO” that actually pays the bills and has an actual military will pull their irons out of the fire. For the third time.

The only remaining effective arm of the Russian Military is their air force and the same European leaders have made it at best questionable of Europe will be able to receive the Arrow 3 system for Sky Shield let alone the more recent Iron Beam.

So go against a military that ONLY has an effective air force without the best air defense system available…..

I don’t think so European leaders are fear mongering their populations because most of these governments are unpopular and the best way to avoid people voting in unknown new guys is pretend there is a crisis.

I can’t imagine Vladimir Putin wanting another war while he is losing the war in Ukraine.

Either everything I think happened in Ukraine was just propaganda and the U.S. Military and German Military both suck at determining what the best air defense systems are or European leaders are turning into fear mongering jerks.