Germany will spend 35 billion euros ($41 billion) on outer space defence by 2030, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Thursday, citing the threat posed by Russia and China.

"Russia and China have in recent years rapidly expanded their capabilities for conducting warfare in space," he said.

"They can disrupt, jam, manipulate or even physically destroy satellites. In space, there are no borders or continents. Russia and China are our immediate neighbours there."

Germany has strongly backed Ukraine in its war against Russia and, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, vowed to massively step up military spending to help boost NATO's European capabilities.

Pistorius said Germany would also build military structures "to enable us to effectively defend ourselves and deter potential adversaries in

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