Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed frustration over his country’s obsession with weapons systems as Berlin weighs sending long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
The comments come as Friedrich Merz, Germany’s incoming chancellor, attempts to persuade his coalition partners in the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to approve sending the missiles to Ukraine.
Outgoing SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz previously blocked their delivery, citing concerns about escalating the war with Russia.
“I am against firing at targets deep inside Russian territory with weapons we have supplied,” Scholz emphasized.
Scholz also claimed that deploying such systems would require involvement from German military personnel, which he said was “out of the question.”
Pistorius characterized Germany’s public discussions about providing long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine as an “erotic relationship,” according to The Telegraph.
“I don’t know where this erotic relationship with weapons comes from,” said Pistorius, who polls show is Germany’s most popular politician.
He noted that other countries like Britain and France, who jointly supplied Storm Shadow missiles last year, don’t engage in such extensive “public debates” about specific weapons deliveries to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s former ambassador to Germany and current UN representative, Andrii Melnyk, responded sharply to the minister’s comments.
“What’s wrong with eroticism? People love eroticism — not just Germans,” Melnyk said.
“Please stop with this clown show. We’re not on the Reeperbahn [red-light district in Hamburg, Germany]. There’s a war going on. And Ukraine needs Taurus like it needs air. Don’t let us suffocate,” Melnyk said.
The Taurus missiles, with a range exceeding 500 km (310 miles), outmatch the Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles (250 km, 155 miles range) provided by Britain and France and the American-supplied ATACMs (300 km, 186 miles range).
Germany ordered 600 Taurus missiles for its Air Force in the early 2000s, though German media reports the Bundeswehr currently has only 150 operational units.
Pressure on Merz to approve the delivery intensified following a Russian missile attack in Sumy on Palm Sunday that killed 36 Ukrainian civilians, including children.
After the strikes, Merz suggested Ukraine could potentially use Taurus missiles to target the Kerch bridge connecting Russia to occupied Crimea.
The new coalition agreement between CDU/CSU and SPD doesn’t specifically mention transferring cruise missiles. However, the parties promised to provide “comprehensive support to Ukraine so it can effectively defend itself against the Russian aggressor and assert itself in negotiations.”
Earlier, Boris Pistorius said that while there are “strong arguments in favor” of supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine, there were also “many strong arguments against it.”
Meanwhile, Moscow issued warnings against providing the weapons. Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and key Putin ally, cautioned Merz to “think twice” and warned that such a move would directly involve Berlin in the war.
Ukrainian officials have stated they would comply with any German conditions regarding permissible targets for the missiles.
