BERLIN, May 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Germany's government said Monday it plans to invest 10 billion euros ($12 billion) to overhaul the country's civil defence system by 2029.

Much of the money would go to Germany's Agency for Technical Relief (THW), which responds to disasters and does humanitarian relief work.

Europe's biggest economy and main supporter of Ukraine has ramped up its defence spending with the aim of deterring Russia.

The planned new investment, which would dwarf the usual civil defence budget, will be spent on 1,000 additional specialised vehicles and reinforcing THW buildings, an interior ministry spokesman said.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius welcomed the proposal, saying Germany had failed to spend enough on civil defence over the past 30 years.

Germany has accused Moscow of being behind numerous incidents of suspected sabotage, espionage and unauthorised drone incursions.

Russia has repeatedly denied responsibility and rejected those allegations.

The plan to strengthen civil defence is scheduled to be discussed by the cabinet on Wednesday.

The Bild newspaper, which first revealed the plans, reported that the ministry plans a national inventory of public disaster shelters, including bunkers, tunnels and robust underground parking garages.

These will then be listed on Germany's NINA public warning app.

According to the report, a new "Civil Defence Command" would be created within the interior ministry to coordinate with the German military in the event of an attack.

"We are ramping up our efforts in civil protection and civil defence," Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told Bild, also vowing "a firm stance against hybrid threats".