The extremely small percentage of Germans who believe that the military can defend their country

Citizens' trust in the German army's ability to defend the country is extremely low, according to a survey conducted by the polling institute Insa and published on Sunday by Bild newspaper, dpa and Agerpres report.

The survey, conducted on a representative sample of 1,005 respondents between May 21-22, found that only 17% fully or somewhat approved of the statement that the Bundeswehr (German armed forces – no) could adequately defend Germany, while no less than 72% thought it would not.

Only 38% of respondents said they were worried about a possible attack from Russia, while 50% said they were not worried.

This last percentage was down from 52% recorded in September 2025.

There was considerably more concern about a possible digital attack, with two-thirds of respondents expressing concern about cyber-attacks, sabotage or targeted disinformation, while 22% said they were little or not at all concerned.