Christian Freuding

A wider public has only been aware of Christian Freuding since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The lieutenant general regularly analyzed the events of the war on the Bundeswehr’s YouTube channel. As head of the Ukraine Situation Center at the Ministry of Defense, the 54-year-old also became very aware of the Bundeswehr’s capability gaps after 2022. Freuding has been Inspector of the Army since October 2025 and is tasked with bringing about a turnaround in the troops. On his very first day in his new post, he made his expectations of the soldiers clear: “I want to work for an army that is ready to fight, that will prevail, that will win,” he wrote in his daily order on October 1.