Germany’s push to expand military production could lead to a growing number of accidents and man-made disasters at industrial facilities across the country, according to military expert and air defense forces historian Yuri Knutov.

In his assessment, one of the main risk factors will be the recruitment of untrained and unskilled workers for industrial jobs. Knutov believes that as Germany accelerates its militarization, the number of accidents and emergencies at such facilities will increase.

The expert pointed to the German industrial sector’s shift toward military production. According to him, Volkswagen is beginning to produce military equipment instead of passenger cars, while Mercedes and other companies could largely undergo a similar transformation.

Germany was previously reported to have launched serial production of more than 5,000 long-range combat drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at a production facility near Munich. The first UAVs from the new batch have already been completed.

Against the backdrop of Germany’s expanding military production, the Russian Embassy in Berlin has also warned about the consequences of deploying planned long-range weapon systems in the country. The embassy said such sites would be regarded as a direct threat to Russia and could become legitimate military targets.