Germany's Scholz explains his reluctance to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made clear that he remains reluctant to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, pointing to a risk of his country becoming directly involved in the war
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made clear Monday that he remains reluctant to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, pointing to a risk of his country becoming directly involved in the war.
Germany is now the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States and is further stepping up its support this year. But Scholz has stalled for months on Ukraine’s desire for Taurus missiles, which have a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) and could in theory be used against targets far into Russian territory.
He hasn’t stated definitively that they won’t be delivered but offered the clearest explanation yet of his hesitancy — which has annoyed both Germany's conservative opposition and some in his own three-party coalition — at an editorial conference of German news agency dpa.
The chancellor has long emphasized his determination to help Ukraine without escalating the war and drawing Germany and NATO into it.
Scholz said Monday that “we must at no point and in no place be linked to targets this (Taurus) system reaches,” and so it is not the next option on the agenda, dpa reported. “This clarity is necessary. I am surprised that this doesn't move some people, that they don't even think about whether, as it were, a participation in the war could emerge from what we do.”
Britain and France have long since announced that they were sending Storm Shadow and Scalp long-range missiles, respectively, to Ukraine.
Scholz said the Taurus is “a very far-reaching weapon” and added: “What is being done in the way of target control and accompanying target control on the part of the British and the French can't be done in Germany. Everyone who has dealt with this system knows that.”
He suggested that the German debate over Taurus missiles has lost sight of what Ukraine actually needs now. “What Ukraine is missing is ammunition at all possible ... distances, but not decisively this thing from Germany,” he said.
Last week, German lawmakers called on the government to deliver further long-range weapons to Ukraine, but voted down an opposition call explicitly urging it to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles.
A motion drawn up by the governing parties urged the government to keep up military support and said “this includes the delivery of further necessary long-range weapons systems and ammunition” to enable attacks on “strategically important targets far in the rear of the Russian aggressor.”
That unspecific formulation allowed government lawmakers to advocate sending Taurus missiles, or not.