Germany remains indecisive regarding the provision of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, expressing skepticism about their potential to bring a substantial change to the frontline situation. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this during the NATO Talk conference in Berlin on 6 November, as reported by Ukrinform.
“I don’t think the missiles will be a game changer,” Pistorius said.
Pistorius added that he had nothing new to say regarding Germany’s decision to transfer Tauruses to Ukraine or not, but reiterated that Germany should not ignore its own interests when providing aid to Ukraine, without elaborating further.
“The ATACMS, which the US sent [to Ukraine], has a range of 160 km, and the Taurus has a range of 500 km. This is a completely different system,” he said.
At the same time, Pistorius said Germany is currently the second-largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US, and German weapons help save lives and protect infrastructure in Ukraine every day.
Ukraine has been requesting German Taurus missiles since this year’s spring and numerous German politicians, including those within the ruling coalition, advocate for supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Germany, however, did not agree to supply the missiles yet.
WSJ stated that Germany refrains from sending German-made Taurus long-range precision missiles to Ukraine because of the fear that the maintenance of the missiles would require German technicians on the ground in Ukraine. German officials told the WSJ that Germany’s three-party coalition government approved the Taurus delivery in principle, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz allegedly froze the decision.
The Taurus KEPD 350 is a Swedish-German air-launched cruise missile manufactured by Taurus Systems and used by Germany, Spain, and South Korea. Taurus is one of NATO’s most powerful conventional weapons that can hit targets within 500 kilometers.
Read also:
- Bild: Germany has no plans to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine
- WSJ: Scholz freezes decision on Taurus delivery to Ukraine
- Ukraine FM on Taurus missiles delivery: “decision-making process within Germany is moving forward”
- Ukraine Defense Minister on Germany considering transfer of Taurus missiles: “I don’t think it will take a year”
- Defense Express: Berlin refrains from sending Taurus to Ukraine over low stockpile