German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has once again expressed his unwillingness to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. He stated this in the German parliament, saying the only way to deliver the missiles would be with German staff providing support, a decision he ruled out as “out of the question.”
“That is a line that I — as chancellor — do not want to cross,” he said.
Experts have repeatedly stated that German soldiers would not be required on the ground to program the missiles. But the chancellor shows no sign of changing his stance.
This comes after a leaked audio last week of German officers discussing sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine hypothetically. Scholz’s refusal is straining his coalition, with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urging intensive consideration of the transfer.
A defense committee member, Alexander Müller, revealed Scholz privately disclosed his reasoning in a secret session this week, saying “one or two things that cannot be discussed publicly” are making him rightly hesitant.
Notably, on 13 March, Scholz accused opposition lawmakers of instrumentalizing the Taurus topic despite “knowing everything” about the reasons, which are not public knowledge.
German media have speculated Scholz fears a Russia victory would then require Germany’s depleted military to use Taurus to deter a Russian campaign expansion, with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung citing this as a potential reason.
Read more:
- Bild: Germany has no plans to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine
- EU Parliament urges EU to give Ukraine whatever it needs, including Taurus
- Intercept of German generals planning Taurus strike on Crimean bridge: full translation
- German Taurus leak reveals Europe’s awakening to new security reality
- Cameron says UK ready to send more Storm Shadows to Ukraine if Germany sends Tauruses to UK