President Trump has ramped up his criticism of Germany's leader after Chancellor Friedrich

Meertz said the United States had been humiliated by Iran. In a post on Truth Social, the

president told Meertz to, quote, spend more time on ending the war with Russia, Ukraine,

where he has been totally ineffective and fixing his broken country. Despite Trump's rhetoric and repeated threats

to withdraw the U.S. from NATO, Germany's top military officer claims relations with American

military leaders are as strong as ever. But he also says the threat from Russia means

Germany's push to strengthen its own armed forces is a race against time.

Our special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from Germany.

In Marienburg, in former East Germany, near the Czech border, the country's newest recruits perform a last-minute drill before their passing- out parade. For some, the army offered a path out of unemployment.

Others were motivated by Ukraine's resistance against Russia.

For security reasons, they only gave their first names.

My personal view is that I owe a lot to this country, for education, the health system, and I would call myself a patriot.

Of course, I think I'm a little bit concerned, but I'm not really afraid that Russia will attack us or a while will break out.

Because I think it's more like a warning or a wake-up call for us.

Marching alongside Marianberg's town band, the 371st mechanized infantry battalion will become the tip of NATO's defensive spear.

They can expect to be deployed to Lithuania to strengthen the alliance's eastern flank.

If the German government gets its way, passing out parade is going to be a far more frequent

occurrence.

The German Chancellor Friedrich Mauser said he'll do whatever it takes to make sure that Germany is war-ready by 2029.

He's boosted defence spending to make sure that by the end of the decade, Germany will have the strongest military force in Europe.

This footage from the Bundeswehr, federal armed forces shows mechanized infantry training

to defend the West against Russian aggression.

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