Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has expressed readiness to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, signaling a potential major shift in German policy toward delivering weapons capable of destroying Russia’s strategic bridge to occupied Crimea.

Speaking to public broadcaster ARD on 13 April night, Merz, who is set to take office next month, denounced Russia’s missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, which claimed lives of at leat 34 civilians and injured 117 others, as “a serious war crime” and emphasized Ukraine needs support to “get ahead” in the war, FT reports.

“Our European partners are already supplying cruise missiles,” Merz told ARD. “The British are doing it, the French are doing it, and the Americans are doing it anyway.”

“War was initiated by Russia alone”: Macron condemns deadly Sumy missile strike that killed 34

The Taurus system, manufactured by a joint venture between European missile maker MBDA and Sweden’s Saab, has a range exceeding 500km – longer than the Storm Shadows supplied by the UK and France or the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) provided by the US. This extended range would enable Ukrainian forces to strike targets deep behind Russian lines.

The incoming chancellor stressed that any missile delivery would need to be coordinated with allies.

“This must be jointly agreed. And if it agreed, then Germany should take part,” he said.

Merz pointed to the Sumy attack as evidence of  Putin’s true intentions, stating it shows “what Putin does to those who talk to him about a ceasefire.”

Germany’s outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz has consistently rejected requests from Kyiv and its allies to provide Taurus missiles, citing concerns about escalation in the war.

Meanwhile, Merz not only indicated his willingness to supply these weapons but also suggested they could potentially be used against high-value targets such as the Kerch Bridge linking Russia to Crimea, which has become a symbol of Putin’s occupation of the peninsula and a major supply route sustaining the Russian occupation of Crimea.