Germany currently has no plans to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine because they are not comparable to missiles provided by France and Britain, as per Bild.
In addition, the newspaper says Berlin is concerned that the Taurus missiles could be used to target the Kerch Bridge which links Russia to Crimea.
Earlier, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov declared that attacks on the bridge would continue relentlessly until it is destroyed.
“Putin will get upset once again,” Ukraine’s spy boss says as Kyiv vows to finish off Kerch bridge
The missiles which will give Ukraine an ability to destroy targets deeper within Russian-occupied territory, for a long time have been a subject of discussion between the two countries.
The Taurus KEPD 350 is a Swedish-German air-launched cruise missile manufactured by Taurus Systems and used by Germany, Spain, and South Korea.
Taurus is one of NATO’s most powerful conventional weapons that can hit targets within 500 kilometers.
Bild also reported that in an internal meeting last week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told parliament’s foreign affairs committee that Taurus missiles were not comparable to France’s SCALP or Britain’s Storm Shadow cruise missiles as those countries contribute geodata on targets directly themselves and are involved with their own personnel.
A spokesperson for the chancellery said there were no new updates regarding the issue of Taurus cruise missiles for Ukraine despite efforts of British government officials to persuade Germany to send missiles to Ukraine.
Earlier, Marcus Faber, a Bundestag’s defense committee member, confirmed Ukraine would receive more IRIS-T systems, Gepards, and ammunition from Germany.
Bloomberg: Germany to send more air defenses to protect Ukraine grain routes
“Ukraine will use those units to better protect its grain ports, for example,” Faber stated without providing details.
