The German government is considering sending Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine amid growing popular backlash, as the delivery of such long-range weaponry could prompt the escalation of the conflict. As a solution, Chancellor Scholz is looking for ways to reprogram the missiles to limit the possibility of attacking targets inside Russia, the Deutsche Welle reported on Friday, August 11th.
Ukraine has long been asking for long-range missiles from the West, which most leaders—quite understandably—have been reluctant to grant, for such weapon systems could be used to attack targets far beyond the occupied territories, within Russia proper. Moscow has warned before that delivering such weapons will be regarded as joining the conflict and offer cause for serious escalation.
Kyiv has been specifically asking for U.S.-made ATACMS (with a range of 300 km) but without any results so far. To date, only Paris promised to deliver any long-range weaponry, namely Anglo-French SCALP cruise missiles, with an effective range of 250 km. Soon, however, the UAF could get its hands on something that’s better than both—German Taurus missiles—despite both Chancellor Scholz and Defense Minister Pistorius saying Berlin won’t equip Ukraine with any of the sort.
The Swedish-German-made Taurus is a potent air-launched cruise missile system with stealth technology and a range of 500 km (310 mi). It is typically carried and launched by fighter jets and is designed to penetrate command bunkers and other fortified targets, detonating inside with high precision. What’s more, with such a range (better than both ATACMS’ and SCALP’s), Ukraine could reach as far as Moscow.
Now, Berlin is reportedly in talks with the Taurus’ German manufacturer, MBDA, regarding potential alterations to limit the range of the missiles before beginning their future delivery in order to prevent the UAF from using them to target Russia and incite further escalation.
The German government neither confirmed nor denied the reports. “Germany is focusing on heavy artillery, armored vehicles, and air defense systems,” a government spokesperson said on Friday when asked about potential missile delivery, only adding that “there is no new information on the Taurus cruise missile.”
The opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) said they were not against the eventual delivery of long-range weapon systems, but asked the government coalition to clarify its position and stop going back and forth on the issue. Johann Wadephul, a senior CDU politician also stressed that any future deliveries of cruise missiles and Western air force must also be synchronized, hinting at the promised F-16s of the international ‘fighter jet coalition.’
Meanwhile, most Germans are unsatisfied with Scholz’s socialist government and its foreign policy decisions, with the Chancellor’s approval rating hitting a record low of 31% in August. The government’s approval rating stands at only 20%.The same is true for the large-scale weapons delivery to Ukraine, as only a minority of Germans support the continuous arming of Ukraine, while a slight majority (51%) believe that German arms deliveries can be considered dangerous involvement in the war.
