Ukraine Seeks German 'Taurus' Missiles: A New Secret Weapon Against Putin's Forces?
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US (2 / 1) 26.03.2024 12:42 von Julia Symbolbild imago
US General Ben Hodges is convinced that long-range missiles would provide a crucial advantage for Ukrainian troops. They would "ensure that Crimea becomes inaccessible to Russian air and naval forces". Hodges emphasized on the ZDF show Maybrit Illner that if the USA were to deliver such missiles to Ukraine, Germany should also provide "Taurus". If Germany were to deliver "Taurus" systems to Ukraine, however, these would also have to be integrated into the system, which could take time. The Ukrainians have recently reiterated their demand for "Taurus" missiles. The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, told Welt am Sonntag: "We place great hopes in German 'Taurus' missiles." Referring to previous debates in Germany about the delivery of other types of weapons such as battle tanks, Makeiev said he hoped the debate could be shortened this time to save more lives.
German Government Discusses Possible Delivery
Calls are also growing louder from German politics to send the weapon to Kiev. Marcus Faber, FDP defense politician, emphasized that the success of the cruise missiles delivered by the UK to Ukraine shows the importance of these weapons. Roderich Kiesewetter, foreign policy spokesman for the CDU, said the Bundeswehr has 600 "Taurus" systems. Although about 450 of them are not ready for use, they could be upgraded for export to Ukraine by the company MBDA. Following deliveries by the European nuclear powers UK and France, Germany could also deliver "Taurus" missiles to Ukraine in step. So it would not be an isolated measure. Nonetheless, the Federal Ministry of Defense has so far reaffirmed its rejection of a delivery. A spokeswoman told Welt am Sonntag that Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius (SPD) made it clear that there would be no delivery of "Taurus" cruise missiles.