While reporting on July 13, 2025, that the European Parliament had rejected a no-confidence vote against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, News.by host Yekaterina Tikhomirova brought up her former role as Germany’s defense minister:
"By the way, this isn’t the first time von der Leyen has avoided accountability — her corruption scandal stretches all the way back to Germany. It started with some absurd ideas: and no, this isn’t a joke — she actually pushed to refit German tanks with special seats for pregnant tank crew."
Ursula von der Leyen served as Germany’s defense minister from 2013 to 2019. There are no mentions of such an initiative in either the German or English-language press. But the claim does appear on social media — including a Russian Telegram channel and on VKontakte and Odnoklassniki.
To find out whether it’s true, we asked Germany’s Defense Ministry. WTF reached out to Germany’s Defense Ministry and received the following response:
“No such measures have been taken or are being considered. There are also clear labor protection laws in place to safeguard pregnant service members. These include specific regulations on the use of heavy machinery and large military vehicles."
Under maternity protection guidelines in the Bundeswehr, pregnant servicewomen are barred from duties involving heavy physical work or exposure to excessive vibration or noise.