Moscow will regard a strike by German Taurus missiles on Russian targets as Germany's participation in the conflict in Ukraine

Eurofighter Typhoon with Taurus.
Photo: TASS/ABACA

The leader of the German conservatives from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the likely German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, announced his readiness to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Kiev in coordination with European allies. This decision is not supported by his junior coalition partners, the Social Democrats. Meanwhile, the Kremlin warned that this would only lead to an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

"The British are doing this [supplying Kiev with cruise missiles], the French are doing this, the Americans are doing it anyway," Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, said on ARD television, answering a question about his readiness to transfer Taurus long — range missiles to Ukraine.

According to him, the supply of weapons is planned to be coordinated with European partners, and if this happens, "Germany should participate." The politician also added that "Ukraine needs a strategic offensive capability, including strikes on the land corridor between Russia and Crimea."

According to the ZDF TV channel, during the election campaign, Merz, although he took a tougher stance than the current chancellor Olaf Scholz, was more restrained in his comments about Taurus. In particular, he stated that Kiev should receive "the systems necessary for defense, including cruise missiles," however, he did not specify which systems were in question.

On April 9, it became known that the CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democratic Party of Germany had signed an agreement to form a coalition. It does not mention the delivery of Taurus missiles to Kiev.

The current head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, who will finish his duties in early May, when Friedrich Merz becomes chancellor, has repeatedly rejected requests from the Ukrainian authorities to transfer the Taurus to Kiev. The SPD politician explained his decision by saying that he would not allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia, and also feared an escalation that "could lead to a war between Russia and NATO." Missiles with a range of about 500 km can reach Moscow from the territory of Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Scholz's position, for which the Chancellor was repeatedly criticized in the Bundestag, responsible, and stressed that it differs from the position of the French or the British.

Friedrich Merz has recently shifted the focus from the Ukrainian conflict to Germany's domestic politics amid the elections, and the issue of Taurus supplies seemed to have receded into the background. However, after concluding an agreement on the creation of a coalition, the CDU leader decided to return to it.

Meanwhile, as Bloomberg reports, Merz's plan for Ukraine has already exacerbated disagreements within the German coalition. Until April 29, SPD members will vote on the coalition agreement, however, according to the agency, "it has already been overshadowed by public bickering."

Boris Pistorius, the acting German Defense minister representing the SPD, who may retain his position in the future, was very skeptical about Merz's statement. At the SPD conference in Hanover, he drew attention to the fact that there are arguments in favor of supplying such weapons to Ukraine, but there are also "many arguments, weighty arguments" against.

Pistorius also denied the prevailing opinion in Germany that he allegedly always advocated the transfer of Taurus missiles to Kiev. Commenting on Merz's words that the missiles could be transferred after an agreement with the allies in the European Union, he stressed: "I do not know of any European partner with such a [missile] system. So the approval is still an issue."

However, despite the fact that such decisions are made with the consent of the coalition's allies, the Chancellor has the last word. In the European Union, Merz's position was supported by Poland, the Netherlands and France. Hungary and Slovakia opposed it.

Merz arrived in Kyiv – he looks scared.
Photo: DPA

Germany may be forced to abandon its plan to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine if it doesn’t receive British endorsement soon, a member of Berlin’s incoming government has warned, writes ‘The Telegraph’.

Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior Christian Democrats (CDU) MP, said in-fighting between his party and its coalition partner, the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD), was holding up a final decision by Friedrich Merz, the chancellor-in-waiting.

But he suggested that “UK leadership” might be able to break the deadlock and give Mr Merz the support he needs to deliver the powerful, long-range missile system.

“The Taurus delivery remains a point of contention for the time being ... I do not yet see any consensus here, especially as the parties have not agreed on the key security policy issues in the coalition agreement,” Mr Kiesewetter said.

“I don’t yet see the Taurus being delivered. Any influence by UK leadership to finally convince Germany to deliver Taurus might help and is highly welcomed,” he added.

While Britain already provides Kyiv with Storm Shadows, and France has sent Scalp missiles, Olaf Scholz, the outgoing German chancellor, stubbornly refused to provide the Taurus system to Ukraine, fearing it would drag Germany into direct conflict with Russia.

Storm Shadows and Scalps are shorter in range than the Taurus, which could potentially be used by Ukrainian forces to bomb the Kremlin in Moscow or destroy the strategically important Kerch Bridge in Crimea.

Mr Merz’s Taurus announcement earlier this week was widely viewed as a sign that Germany will ‘get much tougher on Russia’ under his leadership than under Mr Scholz.

Mr Kiesewetter argued that the Scholz government’s refusal to send the Taurus system has ended up emboldening Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, a mistake that this new government could be doomed to repeat.

“The delay and blockade of the delivery of this far-reaching system by chancellor Scholz was a major mistake and a de facto failure to provide assistance, which has weakened European security and led to more victims in Ukraine,” he said.

“Taurus is and remains a very effective means of destroying Russian command structures and supply routes and thus preventing Russian attacks in advance. It is important that Chancellor Merz orders the delivery immediately and, if possible, without ultimatums or preconditions,” the CDU MP added.

Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a move would inevitably lead to a further escalation of the Ukrainian conflict. "We see similar positions in other European capitals. Unfortunately, indeed, European capitals are not inclined to look for any ways out of peace negotiations, but rather are inclined to continue provoking the continuation of the war," the Kremlin spokesman said.

If Germany provides long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, it will not change the situation on the battlefield, but will give "a totally new quality" to Russian-German relations, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev said, TASS quotes.

"I think that if that happens, it will be a very short-sighted move because, first of all, it will not lead to any changes on the battlefield," he said.

This, he said, could only prolong the conflict and lead to further casualties.

"Thirdly, it could mean a completely new quality in our relations with Germany, because Ukrainian soldiers, as far as we know, and even foreign military experts recognize this, can’t operate these long-range weapons," the diplomat said.

"Does it mean that German soldiers or officers will be standing by the missiles? But if this is the case, although all politicians flatly deny it, then it will indeed be a new quality in relations," the ambassador stated. "This quality will be completely unsavory."

Moscow will regard a strike by German Taurus missiles on Russian targets as Germany's participation in the conflict in Ukraine, said the ministry's official representative Maria Zakharova.

"Since live firing by these cruise missiles is impossible without the direct assistance of Bundeswehr servicemen, a strike by them on any Russian targets, critical transport infrastructure... all this will be regarded as direct participation of Germany in military actions," Zakharova said.