The hesitation of the head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, on the supply of long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine is driving Kyiv crazy.
The European edition of the American newspaper Politico writes about this.
Why Germany does not transfer Taurus to Ukraine
The article says that Scholz’s hesitation on the issue of supplying Taurus to Ukraine is causing outrage in Kyiv, but Germany has many reasons for such caution.
According to the publication, Berlin refuses to supply these missiles to Ukraine due to the characteristics of the fuse and the possibility of striking the Crimean Bridge.
The publication recalls that the Crimean Bridge is an extremely important goal for Kyiv; the Ukrainian Armed Forces have repeatedly tried to destroy it.
But it is precisely for this reason that Scholz does not want to supply Taurus missiles, – stated in the publication.
The publication notes that the German Chancellor recently said that Ukraine’s use of a German missile to strike the Crimean Bridge would be an escalation.
Scholz also said that he, as head of government, is obliged to ensure that Germany does not become a party to the conflict.
According to Politico, Berlin also fears that the Taurus will fall into the hands of the Russian military.
It is noted that these missiles are the only real means at Germany’s disposal for striking targets in the depths of the defense.
Despite Scholz’s fears, the pressure on him is increasing, and it is possible that he may surrender,” the publication summarizes.
As reported, in mid-September, the head of the German Ministry of Defense, Boris Pistorius, announced the possibility of a quick solution to the issue of transferring the Taurus to Ukraine.
At the same time, Berlin has repeatedly made it clear that the transfer of Taurus is not being considered as a priority and without agreement with the North Atlantic Alliance allies.
The main point of contention for Germany is the range of the Taurus, which is 500 km. The German expert community is discussing whether it is possible to program the Taurus in such a way that it cannot be used to strike Russia.
As the German publication Spiegel reported, Scholz is now interested in this issue, and negotiations are underway with representatives of the defense industry.
