“I am not afraid of Russia invading us. To me, that is absolute nonsense.” Students across Germany walked out of classes Friday, joining a nationwide school strike against against mandatory military screenings in preparation for war with Russia. In Hamburg, hundreds of students and activists marched through the city carrying placards and banners reading “Russia is not our enemy.” The mobilization there coincided with Red Storm Charlie, a Bundeswehr-led civil-military cooperation exercise hosted in the city this weekend that organizers say is an unnecessary preparation for war. Though German military service remains voluntary for now, new legislation at the start of this year requires all 18-year-old men to complete a questionnaire about their willingness and suitability to serve. Starting next year, men born in 2008 and later will be required to submit to mandatory medical examinations by Germany’s military healthcare system. If recruitment targets are missed, the Bundestag can vote to impose conscription, which it suspended in 2011 but never abolished.

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