Russian invasion
Ukrainian Foreign Minister expects Taurus delivery
“The fact that you don’t hear a clear no is an answer in itself,” says Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. photo
© Denes Erdos/AP/dpa
It has been nine months since Ukraine officially asked the federal government for Taurus missiles. A clear answer is still pending. Kiev is counting on things to go the way they did with battle tanks.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expects the Federal government will still decide to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. “The fact that you don’t hear a clear no is an answer in itself,” Kuleba told journalists on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. “We always trust that such problems will eventually be solved because that’s what life has taught us over the last two years.”
Hoping for the Leopard Principle
Every discussion about arms deliveries began with a no, the minister emphasized, referring to previous debates about the delivery of new quality German weapons. For example, before the federal government approved the export of Leopard battle tanks, it also hesitated for a long time. The Ukrainian government officially requested the Taurus cruise missile with a range of 500 kilometers and high accuracy from the federal government last May in order to be able to hit military targets far behind the front line.
In October, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would not deliver them for the time being. Behind this are fears that the missiles could hit Russian territory. At the Munich Security Conference, Scholz avoided the question of whether he might still want to release it. In an interview after his speech, he simply assured that Germany would always do enough to support Ukraine.
Kuleba relies on Germany’s commitment
Kuleba justified his hope for the Taurus delivery by saying that Germany’s commitment is currently increasing significantly. This was also shown by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj’s visit to Chancellor Scholz in Berlin, during which a long-term security agreement was signed and a new arms package was approved. “I think the driving force behind this commitment is the recognition that Europe needs to take more responsibility for what happens in Europe.”
Ukraine: Meet logistics and supplies with Taurus
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasized the importance of these weapons. “There is only one way to destroy Russian capabilities in Ukraine. You have to hit them deep in the occupied territories.” Taurus, together with the American Atacms missiles, is the most modern weapon capable of this. “If you want to strike behind the lines, disrupt their logistics and supplies, destroy their ammunition depots, you can only do that with long-range missiles.”