German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again refused to supply long-range cruise missiles Taurus to Ukraine. The defenders of Ukraine have been asking for them for months, but Germany doesn’t see a viable way to supply them.
The Taurus KEPD 350 is a highly capable long-range cruise missile. Image credit: Alf van Beem via Wikimedia
Olaf Scholz said that the main concern for Germany in this regard is to stay out of this way while supplying weapons to Ukraine. There is a belief that a weapon of this range (more than 500 km) might encourage Ukraine to attack Russia and Russia may consider Germany a party of the war. Scholz emphasized that the Taurus is a long-range weapon and the supply of it could force the war to spill out of Ukraine.
Very similar Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles were provided to Ukraine by the United Kingdom and France. Those cruise missiles helped Ukraine a lot and they were used to attack targets in the occupied Crimea, which Russia considers its own. This did not force Russia to attack NATO. So what is Germany afraid of? Scholz suggested that French and British cruise missiles have different target control capabilities that are not available for the Taurus.
What does that mean? The United Kingdom and France appear to have ways of controlling or at least monitoring what Ukraine is targeting with the cruise missiles they have provided. Of course, it is in the interest of these countries that their weapons are not used against targets on Russian territory. The Taurus doesn’t seem to provide such capabilities.
The Taurus is highly suitable for destroying bunkers and other concrete structures. The illegal Crimean Bridge would be a perfect target. And it is on internationally recognized Ukrainian territory.
But Scholz is not alone. Bild reports that the latest survey revealed that 49% of the German population would be against sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Only 35% would support it, and 16% did not have a strong opinion on the matter. Just over a thousand German residents took part in this survey.
Scholz also noted that the focus on Taurus is frustrating because Ukraine simply needs ammunition of different ranges. Ukraine actually lacks artillery shells the most, but the Taurus question comes up again and again. After every brutal Russian attack on Ukrainian civilians, Germany hears a new call to hand over the Taurus to Ukraine. Even the death of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny was presented as a reason to free the Taurus.
Scholz is not the main obstacle on Taurus’ road to Ukraine. German lawmakers hit the “No” button every time the question comes up. This has to do not only with fears that this will somehow suck Germany or all of NATO in a war against Russia, but also with the fact that Germany has very few Taurus missiles in stock.
Written by Povilas M.
Sources: Censor.net. Anews.com