Boris Pistorius, a relatively unknown politician from Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) who is currently Interior Minister for the state of Lower Saxony, will be Germany's new defense minister, government sources told AFP on Tuesday.

An SPD source also told Reuters that Pistorius is to serve as the next Defense Minister.

Scholz is expected to announce the appointment later Tuesday following the resignation of Christine Lambrecht at a crucial time for the ministry, with Germany under intense pressure to send battle tanks to Ukraine.

According to Reuters, if confirmed, Pistorius' appointment could result in a wider reshuffling of the German cabinet, as Scholz has promised to staff his cabinet with equal numbers of men and women.

Lambrecht resigned on Monday after a series of gaffes raised concerns about her capacity to lead the country in revitalizing its long-neglected military forces amid the Ukraine crisis.

In a statement, Lambrecht stated, "Today I asked the chancellor to dismiss me from the office of Federal Minister of Defence."

She further blamed the "months-long media focus on my person" for preventing her from making "security policy decisions in the interest of the citizens of Germany."

Published in the German newspaper The Bild, a poll conducted by the Institute for New Social Answers (INSA) has previously shown that two-thirds of Germans want Christine Lambrecht to step down as Defense Minister of Germany - amounting to 64%. 

Only 15% selected her to stay in her position and a mere 9% described her performance as positive. On the other hand, 59% of Germans who participated in the poll disapproved of her performance as defense minister. 

Lambrecht has recently been scrutinized for mishandling the country's defense policies and addressing the war in Ukraine lightly.

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