German hospitals prepare for war scenarios under new civil defense plan

German authorities have developed a comprehensive contingency plan for hospitals in Berlin to prepare for potential war scenarios, according to local media reports on Thursday.

The plan was developed through a two-year collaboration between Berlin's Health Ministry, the German military, and 12 of the capital's medical facilities, and it remains classified for security reasons, according to German press agency DPA.

The contingency planning addresses several critical scenarios, including military attacks on the metropolitan area, hybrid threats, natural disasters and infrastructure collapse, the report stated, citing officials.

Key questions addressed in the framework include maintaining critical hospital services during conflicts, distributing patients during emergencies, and ensuring adequate emergency power, medical supplies, and medications.

The new civil defense plan comes amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. German military and intelligence leaders have recently issued multiple warnings that Russia could test NATO's defense readiness and potentially attack a European country within the next four years.

According to German officials, Russia is significantly increasing its conventional forces and resources, and its armed forces will likely be positioned, in terms of personnel and materiel, to launch an attack against NATO by the end of the decade.