Decision on Taurus cruise missiles for Ukraine could be made soon - media

10.08.2023 17:57

Ukrinform

The German Chancellery continues to be cautious about the idea of sending Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, but amid growing pressure, including from politicians from the ruling coalition, it can be expected that such a decision will be made soon, but only together with the United States.

That's according to German news outlet t-online, which refers to its own sources, Ukrinform reports.

"The decision on Taurus [missiles] could be made soon. [...] It now seems to be imminent," the report said.

According to the news outlet, the Chancellery is currently working on a solution with Germany's most important alliance partner and biggest supporter of Ukraine, the United States.

Several members of the Social Democratic Party confirmed to t-online that the prerequisite for the chancellor to agree to the transfer of new weapons systems to Ukraine is coordinated action, especially with the United States.

Last week, the chancellor's office ordered the German Defense Ministry to submit a template that summarizes the most important facts about the Taurus: availability in the German armed forces, risks, and effectiveness of the weapon. The German Air Force also gave the "green light" for the delivery of the Taurus missiles. However, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said a few days ago that the Taurus delivery was "not our top priority right now."

Therefore, according to the news outlet, there could be a double delivery of Taurus cruise missiles and American ATACMS missiles. The Biden administration has so far refused to supply ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine. However, according to Politico, the U.S. president wants to apply to the U.S. Congress on Thursday for the release of a new weapons package for Ukraine. It is unclear whether the package includes the ATACMS missiles with a range of around 300 kilometers that Kyiv has been requesting for months.

The fear that Ukraine will use Western missiles to attack Russian territory is not the main restraining factor for partners. However, experts say that Ukraine promised to the UK and France not to use the Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles against targets in Russia and it fulfills this promise.

Taurus cruise missiles have a range of over 500 kilometers, can penetrate bunkers and are considered difficult to intercept. The Bundeswehr has over 600 Taurus systems, but only 150 are currently considered operational. Others could be repaired by the industry. It is unclear how many cruise missiles the federal government intends to make available to Ukraine.