The German government may decide to transfer Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine in one or two weeks.
This information was announced on September 15 by the head of the German Ministry of Defense, Boris Pistorius, at a conference dedicated to the Peace of Westphalia.
This is reported by .
What Pistorius said about Taurus deliveries to Ukraine
Speaking about the transfer of these missiles to Ukraine, Pistorius noted that it is not a matter of trust in Ukrainians, but of ensuring security.
The minister recalled that he himself, the head of the German government Olaf Scholz and other members of the cabinet took an oath not to harm their people.
At the same time, we want to defend Ukraine. And if one or two more weeks pass before a decision is made, then so be it, – he stated.
The head of the German defense department called for understanding of Berlin’s position.
Even if our Ukrainian friends find it difficult, Pistorius added.
In May, then Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov called on Berlin to transfer Taurus missiles with a range of up to 500 km to Kyiv.
According to Reznikov, if the Bundeswehr cannot transfer such weapons, the German government should order the start of their production.
As German Foreign Minister Annalena Bärbock explained this week, Germany is not transferring these missiles to Ukraine due to fears that they will strike deep into Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba responded to this that Germany would still hand over the Taurus, and urged not to waste time.
German-Swedish Taurus missiles are designed to carry out high-precision strikes against highly protected targets without entering the enemy air defense zone of the carrier aircraft.
The main controversial point about the transfer of Taurus to Ukraine is their range of 500 km. Until now, Germany has fundamentally not supplied Ukraine with weapons with such characteristics.
The German expert community discussed whether it was possible to program the Taurus in such a way that they could not launch strikes on Russian territory. According to the German publication Spiegel, this is precisely the issue that interests Scholz, which is why negotiations are allegedly underway with representatives of defense companies.
