“We have received a request from the Ukrainian side in recent days,” added the spokeswoman for Germany’s defense ministry, without elaborating on quantities.
Ukraine has sent a formal request to the German government for the delivery of Taurus air-to-surface cruise missiles with a range of at least 500 kilometers, according to a statement today by a spokesman for the German Defense Ministry to AFP.
“We received a request from the Ukrainian side in recent days,” the spokeswoman added, without elaborating further on quantities.
It is not known whether or not Berlin will accept the request, which is expected to spark intense debate within Germany.
The German government has significantly increased arms supplies to Kiev in recent months, but has so far appeared reticent about cruise missiles or any support for the Ukrainian air force, to help it, for example, with the delivery of F-16 fighter jets.
Taurus are fighter-launched air-to-surface cruise missiles manufactured by the German-Swedish company of the same name. Because of their range, they will be able to hit targets far behind the current front line in eastern Ukraine.
Britain, one of Kiev’s main backers, recently announced its intention to deliver Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, making it the first country to deliver such a long-range weapon to Ukraine.
These developments take place at a time when Kiev has been preparing for months a counter-offensive with the aim of pushing Russian troops out of the areas they have placed under their control in Ukraine.
Source :Skai
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